More Games In Store
by lovelytunes
Summary: Sequel to the original drama series. Takes place right after Teacher Cherry finds out a girl gets tied up in a room just before the show ends. What kind of a game the MIT gang will have to face again? Read on to find out!
1. Chapter 1: Another Start

Chapter 1

Another Start

"So how's everything? Is the girl alright now?" Teacher Cherry anxiously asked the four of them the moment she stormed into the room where they usually gathered.

"Don't you worry, Teacher Cherry. The girl appears to be in perfect shape, not in the least hurt at all. Only being tied up to a cozy chair after someone caused her to be fainted at the classroom's doorway," reported 187.

"Then, can she recognise who's that someone who harmed her?" Teacher Cherry questioned in a more serious tone.

"187 will always be 187. Only matters related to girls live in your mind," 747 could not stand such a statement and then turned to Teacher Cherry. "Teacher, according to the information we got, the culprit was wearing a white mask and coverall suit....."

"And?" Teacher Cherry was again up to her trademark self of pursuing important clues from them.

Tian Mo Xing quickly jumped into their conversation, "So that's why there's no way that student could recognise the person who drugged her."

Teacher Cherry only looked despondently at Tian Mo Xing and sighed audibly.

"There's no need to get so disappointed. I believe we profited more than losing this time," 007 added.

Teacher Cherry's face instantly lit up this time, "A Game CD?!!" 007 was holding it in his hand and he explained that it was discovered taped underneath the table of the victim's seat.

"Oh, 007, no wonder you deserve so much of respect from Teacher always and always!" Teacher Cherry and Tian Mo Xing rushed forward to crowd around 007 while 187 and 747 offered each other hurting glances understood tacitly before joining them.

"Wow, it's still in one unblemished piece!!" squealed Tian Mo Xing joyfully as 007 took out the disc from the cover and placing it into the computer's CD drive.

"Thank you for your fervent interest..." 747 read aloud what was displayed on the computer screen.

"Why is that such a short simple message?" Tian Mo Xing added with dissatisfaction and creased eyebrows.

"Wait, the computer seems to be acting up again...the cursor is not responding..." 007 realised.

"Have we actually been tricked?" 747 suggested.

"It's hard to say...there could be something else being loaded which opened up some new connections of this computer with another one, slowing down its performance," 007 played around with some keys and checked the firewall's log entries.

"How is it?" Tian Mo Xing wanted to know eagerly.

"I'm convinced that I made the right guess but....." 007 became hesitant.

"It looks like everything's returning back to normal now..." 747 deciphered.

"Oh,..." Teacher Cherry bit her lip when something came to mind.

Everyone turned to her with questioning looks. "May I know what's the time now?" she pleaded sheepishly.

187 held up his shiny wrist watch and announced, "11 o'clock sharp..."

"I see," Teacher Cherry sounded apologetic. "Actually, due to some maintenance job to be done, all network connections for the whole school and dormitories will be down for the next 24 hours. I regret for not informing you guys earlier..."

Although they all were truly quite let down deep inside, no one preferred to hurt Teacher Cherry's feelings.

"Oh,..." Tian Mo Xing tried to divert everyone's attention. "Did you all smell something? Goodness, 747, I have told you many times to empty the trash when I just happened to forget." She nudged him from behind.

747 got the message and went over to the bin, "Ah right...how can we enjoy our Teacher Cherry's wonderfully delicious instant noodles when the disturbing smell is so strong. Sorry, sorry, everyone...I'll take over Tian Mo Xing's job..."

He took out the whole bag of rubbish and quickly tied it up.

"Hey 747," 187 called. "How can you be so careless? Check the bottom of your bag that there's a hole leaking out something."

747 did as was told and true enough, he spotted a piece of cover on the floor. "Hmmm...this looks familiar..." he mumbled.

"747, do you need any help?" Tian Mo Xing hurriedly went over to his side. Seeing what he was holding, she was curious, "Huh? 007, how come you're disposing of the CD cover so fast? Don't you think we should keep it for future use?"

"CD cover?" 007 repeated.

"Ha...Tian Mo Xing, I think you must have overimagined things," 187 smiled in defeat. "I was standing beside 007 for the past 10 minutes and haven't seen him leave his seat for even one-tenth of a second. Besides,..."

"The thing you mentioned about is right here with me," 007 showed Tian Mo Xing the cover.

"But, what we have looks almost exactly the same, except for some noticeable wear and tear," she stressed and rushed over with 747 to hand it to 007.

They all spent some time studying the two covers closely. Then, Teacher Cherry exclaimed, "I can remember where we got the one from the trash. It came with one of Lu Ke Ying's game cds!"

The students looked admirably at their teacher before 007 confirmed that she was right.

Following, 747 added, "But from the way I see, for an older cover like Lu Ke Ying's, it can be considered to have quite a huge number of scratches..."

"Eh,..." Tian Mo Xing took out her magnifying glass and pointed it over. "Everyone, this thing here is actually a white-out!"

They quickly removed away what Tian Mo Xing has discovered. With a bit of effort, 007 finally made out the tiny words that were being covered underneath, "Mastermind Computer Centre."


	2. Chapter 2: Get Working

Chapter 2

Get Working

Tian Mo Xing let out one more distinctive heavy sigh and scratched her head, "Goodness, Teacher Cherry does make full use of her new position as head of Sheng Ying to impose harsh changes on Pi Li MIT this time. I understand it's for the overall benefit, but why do I have to write a report for every single day's progress?" She pouted her lips.

007 smiled hideously and walked over to see how much work she has done so far. On her note pad, there were discovered to be only numerous hand-drawn smileys filling three-quarter of the daisy-scented page. Before she was even aware, he sat down right next to her and she quickly tried aimlessly to cover up what he had already seen. 007 then lifted up one of her hands, "Those pancaked-cartoons are lovely, what do you need to hide them?"

"Ha...pancaked...how I miss Ah Mu's homebaked goodies at this very minute..." Tian Mo Xing lamented in a wistful state.

007 hit her head playfully, "Be a determined Pi Li MIT honourable secretary, Tian Mo Xing...you still have to do another report for today...don't spend too much time on what we have discovered yesterday."

"Oh, 007, you're nagging me again," Tian Mo Xing pretended to be exaggerately frustrated and covered her ears.

He took her hands and looked at her assuringly, "Isn't our Tian Mo Xing an accomplished horror novel writer? What could be so difficult for her to write a simple report?"

She folded her arms in dissatisfaction, "Teacher Cherry insisted it has to be a 'formal' report and I always flunked on this kind of writing."

007 patted her lightly and whispered, "Trust me, just write down all you know in your usual style. Leave them in your locker overnight and you're gonna be sure you have succeeded. I'll go get you some strawberry cake now." He stood up and left her side.

747, who has been going through an endless list painstakingly as well as withstanding quietly their sweet talk at a far corner of the room, decided to give up his task in the meantime, "007, you still have the conscience to go for today's challenge in the cafetaria when your teammates here are having a hard time checking stuff and writing reports? Why can't you spare some time to give us a hand? I have looked over hundreds of Mastermind Computer Centre's phone numbers but none of them admitted to selling any CD to Lu Ke Ying...and I'm only halfway through the second page."

007 stopped in his track, "I'm guessing all CDs were tailor-made for Lu Ke Ying so the programmer of the CDs must have a thorough knowledge of his motives before creating them. It is only likely that they wouldn't admit to once have any dealings with him."

Tian Mo Xing sighed, "Too bad my brother is still not willing to say a word to anyone yet. Mother said he treats the psychiatrist as a nobody and only spends the whole time drawing pictures. How can we ask for more information from him? He has suffered too much already."

007 thought it was a great breakthrough for Tian Mo Xing to be able to keep in touch with Teacher Angel. Their relationship has indeed been taken to a closer and higher level. He added, "Do convey my warmest regards to your parents when you talk to them online again..."

"Ay, Tian Mo Xing," Huang Hui Hong quickly butted in. "Me too! And remember to send me a nudge whenever you want to chat together on MSN. I have just upgraded my old version Windows Live last night..."

"Oh, sure!" Tian Mo Xing promised with a cheerful smile.

"Everyone," 007 alerted. "I receive signal from 187..."

"Hey there," 187 began speaking. "I just got some info from my intelligence network about the girl, Yuan Lan Ying, who was tied up yesterday in Class 1A. Actually, none of the students in that class ever heard of such a name. Now, one of my precious ones said she came across it somewhere and is now searching her address book. Will keep you guys updated, over."

"Huh? What a newsbuzz...then we should..." 747's sentence was being cut off halfway.

"Go check out the classroom's surveillance camera!" 007 finished off and 747 swiftly raced out of the room with him in a flash.

"What? Wait, you guys, how about my report now?" Tian Mo Xing has to start tidying up her stuff in the most rash manner to catch up with them.


	3. Chapter 3: Some Show

Chapter 3

Some show

"Oh my, not only did we lose the surveillance tape, now we get to watch cutie Doraemon!" Tian Mo Xing cried excitedly. She wondered when was the last time she got to see this one of her childhood favourites.

"How many times have we overestimated a victim's innocence? Girls pretended themselves to be stalked after by perverts, I think there were at least two cases...so those should leave us with enough worthwhile experiences to deal with this one...am I right, 007??" 747 sounded quite fade up as he turned to the genius of the group.

"I get your point, Yuan Lan Yin is now a suspect. She could be the one to have exchanged the video tape we wanted with this seemingly unrelated cartoon. But there must be some useful clues we can get out of here," 007 deduced.

Tian Mo Xing looked as though she was already drooling with her eyes glued to the television screen, "Oh, I feel like squeezing Doraemon! If only I can get that kind of gown for my graduation ceremony!"

"Honestly," added 747 thoughtfully. "a gown displaying one kind of style to its owner and another different design in the eyes of others. I would understand why Nobita would want that."

007 started playing with his yellow tube again, "It seems this is a sort of depressing episode. The deep trust shared between Nobita and Doraemon during all times was being tested. Out of dissatisfaction, Nobita went to have another graduation costume made according to the pattern and colour he likes without his best pal knowing. When the truth became apparent, Doraemon purposely took back what he had given to Nobita in the first place. In the end, Nobita suffered humiliation and was disqualified to participate in the theatrical play because the gown he has his heart for was not suitable. He also fell out terribly with Doraemon."

Tian Mo Xing snapped her fingers, "Ah! This has something to do with taking back from others what was generously given before."

"Then, is Yuan Lan Yin the giver or the taker this time?" 747 questioned.

"This," 007 closed his tube, "might need further investigation or we'll have to look out for the culprit's next move."

Tian Mo Xing could not help sighing, "Why must we delve deeper into this? And not enjoy the show like any naive kid would?" She then went over to the computer, so as to distance herself from the complications of 007 and 747's discussions.

"I've checked the IP address of the new connection made to our computer. Its ISP is from a foreign country, and that's to say, not Taiwan," 007 disclosed.

"Huh? Are we that popular internationally?" 747 almost couldn't believe it.

"Wait, it's 187..." 007 sat up. "How's everything at your end?"

"Oh, it's been quite smooth, my precious said that Yuan Lan Yin is actually her penpal from a few years back. One time, her English teacher arranged for the class to correspond with students from other schools across the country and she happened to pick her to write to. We got her address and I'll have it sent over to you guys later, over...Okay precious, I'll buy you your favourite meatball lasagna, let's go..." 187's voice faded off.

"Gives me the creeps," 747 moaned.

"Ahhh! 007, 747!! Look at this!!" Tian Mo Xing exclaimed from her seat.

The both of them rushed towards where she was in front of the computer. They saw that the monitor screen displayed a dialog box, "Thank you for passing Stage 1 of Game 2."

"Stage 1 of Game 2?" 747 repeated in doubt.

007 quickly asked Tian Mo Xing what did she do over the past few minutes.

"Did I do the wrong thing again? I just did a search and changed the desktop wallpaper to Doraemon's...after a few seconds, these words appeared," she explained.

007 then did a quick check," True indeed, the connection is active and I have left the CD in the drive until now. Some party must have discovered what Tian Mo Xing did and activated something from the CD to show this message. I think this is also another way to maintain contact with some mysterious source of this CD to better uncover more truths."

747 and Tian Mo Xing nodded obediently to agree with 007's point of view.


	4. Chapter 4: Night and Morning

Chapter 4

Night and Morning

Li Xiao Xing hurriedly signed into the video chat program and waited with patience. Not long, Teacher Angel's userid was flashing and she clicked on it right away.

As soon as they were connected, Li Xiao Xing's webcam was turned on and the video screen showed Teacher Angel seated before her computer.

"Morning, Mum...did you just wake up?" Li Xiao Xing asked cheerfully.

Teacher Angel smiled, "That's right...Morning, my precious daughter, wanting to be a midnight owl and chat with me again?"

Li Xiao Xing chuckled, "Ya, you're up much earlier than I expected today. Did you have a good night rest?"

Teacher Angel took a sip from her glass of milk before answering, "A rest will still be a rest afterall, be it good or bad. I only wish that your brother could at least spare more of his time to work on better sleeping habits."

"Oh," Li Xiao Xing's mood instantly fell. "Brother is still being given sleeping pills every night?"

Teacher Angel sighed, "He has gotten so used to overworking that he couldn't even stop himself now. Day and night, he kept all silent. His doctor decided to study and analyse his drawings starting yesterday. We will be having a meeting in an hour's time. Hopefully, we could better understand Ke Ying's unspoken thoughts and feelings soon."

"I see," Li Xiao Xing nodded. "Right, Zhan Shi De and Huang Hui Hong asked to convey their warmest regards to you and dad. Has dad adjusted well to the weather there by now?"

Her mum smiled, "That's so thoughtful of them. Do convey ours to them too. Your dad has felt better and his cold has subsided."

"Tell him to wear more clothes, especially since winter is not completely over yet," Xiao Xing reminded. Teacher Angel was all the more proud each day of her caring daughter. After so much misunderstanding and emotional trials, her forgiveness soothed the deepest pain she harboured for so long in her heart without anyone's knowledge. She was glad that she could now say without reservation that she does have a family like any lady of similar age out there in the world. However, everything came with a price. She has all she has now because of her unfortunate son, Ke Ying, who helped her unwield the mystery behind her past. She has been released from the burdens of her overwhelming secrets but the high cost to pay was to recover Ke Ying from the sufferings plaguing him intensely nowadays.

After talking a bit further, Teacher Angel has to get herself ready for the meeting and so they concluded their chat. Li Xiao Xing has to call it a day and go for her sleep. With one last look at their family picture taken at the airport before Teacher Angel, the principal and her brother set off for America, Xiao Xing prayed that Ke Ying will get better soon before dozing off.

At this same hour, a couple of blocks away from the school's dorm, in a home-style cafeteria, the genius, Zhan Shi De was auspiciously donning an oversized kitchen apron, and in his usual hardworking manner, mopping the dining hall clean while checking once every minute to make sure that the floor was speckless and sparkling enough.

The cafe owner currently supervising him could not help sighing, "A perfect person always ensures perfection in his own eyes. Hey, young man, you've started working since two hours ago. If it's not for you, I would have been arriving in dreamland by now. Just when are you going to finish your job?"

007 looked up and wiped off some perspiration from his forehead, "A promise is a promise. I said I'll do my best to clean up every corner of the whole place for you before I leave tonight. And you agreed to it."

The owner folded his arms and almost couldn't take it, "I say, young man, what if I decided to change the deal now and promise you your pair of triple-layered strawberry cake tomorrow morning without the need of finishing this time-consuming work. Are you seriously that madly in love??"

007 momentarily stopped working, "Didn't you first say double-layered?"

"Oh well, you've done three times more than enough," the plump man has no other choice.

007 finally smiled with satisfaction. Then, he was given another warning by the owner, "Next time, don't you ever miss a challenge and come begging me for the prize after all had been given away."

The next morning, Tian Mo Xing was the first one to show up at the MIT room. Or was she not...

"Ahh! Teacher Cherry, you're even earlier than me today!" Tian Mo Xing exclaimed when she found their teacher half-asleep on the computer chair.

"Oh," Teacher Cherry yawned lazily. "Tian Mo Xing, you're also early..." she mumbled.

"Wow, there're people earlier than me too," 747 entered the room. "Hey, Teacher Cherry, is there a new discovery?"

"Goodness!" Teacher Cherry rubbed her eyes. "My new discovery is that part of the databases at the principal's office crashed without warning yesterday. I have to wait the whole day and night for the technician to fix but he didn't come in at all. What worst luck!"

"Really? No wonder Teacher, you didn't join us yesterday...Then the culprit must have made her next move already!" Tian Mo Xing remarked.

"Oh is it?" Teacher Cherry had to yawn again. "Thank God that I have my order delivered at great speed last night. Otherwise, I have to suffer from backache like my dad just because of that silly chair. This one here is a zillion times more comfy. I miss it so much."

"Your order?!" 747 and Tian Mo Xing uttered together.

"Right," Teacher Cherry smiled widely. "It's time for showing off - here, guys..." She took out from behind her a silky white cushion with the portrait of the four of them and Teacher Cherry herself printed on it large and clear.

"How lovely!" Tian Mo Xing squealed.

"Teacher Cherry, do you have anymore of that?" 747 inquired.

"Huh?" Teacher Cherry paused to consider 747's question. She had been too busy to think of ordering more but after a brief moment, she just shrugged it off, "Better get 187 and 007 first, where are they by the way? It's 7:30...we need to hold a discussion..."


	5. Chapter 5: Discussion

Chapter 5

Discussion

"007! 007! Can you hear me?" Tian Mo Xing cried aloud as she patted 007's cheeks softly to wake him up. It didn't yield any noticeable result for at least 5 minutes until 187 gave a huge heavy slap on him. 007 finally opened his eyes wearily while Tian Mo Xing wasted no time in shoving 187 away with full force. Her mild temper suddenly shot up to the highest degree.

"187! How can you be so heartless to do such thing?! We shouldn't have you come along with us in the first place!" Tian Mo Xing burst out and wailed at the top of her voice.

187 only pretended to pout like her, "Boohoohoo, my beloved 007 has been bullied by the world's most handsome Sheng Ying's student..."

Tian Mo Xing retorted further, "What kind of handsome student you are! No matter how many times you check yourself with your handmirror, you're no way near 007 even in terms of looks!"

Teacher Cherry quickly hushed them, "Okay, okay, you both, please stop, and help 007 up..."

007 held onto his head in an effort to combat the giddiness he was having, "How long have I ended up here?"

Tian Mo Xing assisted him in sitting up slowly, "Poor you...We searched all over the school for the past half-hour before we found you here on this stairs. You must have fainted again...What's wrong, 007?" She brushed off some dust from his blazer and eyed him with concern.

The moment 007 got a clearer vision of all around him and looked up, he locked gaze with Tian Mo Xing as she has her hands on his face again. Her huge eyes were so focused on his narrow sharp ones that he thought they could convey so much more than audible words. Nevertheless, he shrugged off the silent interaction they were caught up with and pulled her hand away. 007 then explained to the rest, "I didn't get to sleep until pretty late last night...I saw Yuan Lan Ying at the school's entrance on the way back to the hostel..."

Everyone looked at one another and exclaimed, "You really saw Yuan Lan Ying!"

It was 007's turn to hush them. He managed to get up on his feet with Tian Mo Xing's aid and suggested they should better continue their talk in the Pi Li MIT room.

Everyone agreed so each of them gathered once again at their usual headquarter to delve deeper into the case discussion.

After 007 disclosed everything regarding his new findings, Teacher Cherry arrived confidently at a conclusion, "Based on 007's descriptions and the time he had noted down, I have to say that the man stopped by Yuan Lan Ying at the entrance should most probably be the technician I was supposed to meet last night. And Yuan Lan Ying preventing him from coming to me is simply to ensure my databases will not get fixed anytime sooner. So clever...Hmmm..."

007 continued as he held firmly to his trademark yellow tube, "They took the same taxi off to a shop and if my eyes did not play tricks with me, it is one that deals with computers as well."

"Computers...could it be Mastermind Computer Centre??" 747 figured.

"I have the address here," 007 produced a slip out of his pocket and added in detail, "They spent the rest of the time inside the place with no sign of them exiting at all. I attempted searching for an alternate entrance or a backdoor but a major part of the building was blocked off for renovation."

"That's strange," 187 chipped in. "Yuan Lan Ying's identity background is even harder to obtain than I thought."

"Right," Tian Mo Xing pulled a long face. "We should thank you for giving us time to waste while you accompanied your precious one to enjoy high tea the whole half-day..."

187 took out his handmirror again, "Come on, Miss Li, I was left with no choice...My so-called 'precious one' wants a happy reunion with her long-lost penfriend. I'm sure you know very well that girls like to chat for the 'whole half-day'...And how would I know that she turns out to be another Yuan Lan Ying whom I have never seen before. Do I need to apologise for the tenth time before I go crazy explaining the same old story again?"

Teacher Cherry grabbed the chance to switch topic before their tongue-war situation went out of hand, "Okay, okay, peace out please...Now, I'll go try to contact that technician again or his company or whatever...and 747, 187, do keep aside your mirror and that rusty comb, both of you go dig out some info about that shop which 007 discovered before you guys head over to your classes." She flung the handles of her bag over her shoulder and prepared to dash out of the room with 187 and 747 trailing behind.

"Huh? Wait! Teacher Cherry, what should 007 and I be doing then? We still have time to spare," Tian Mo Xing went up to her.

"Oh," Teacher Cherry pondered blankly for a brief second before turning Tian Mo Xing around. She pointed out, "Can't you see 007 is feeling so tired after his late night mission? Go watch over him..." She gave her a playful wink and without letting Tian Mo Xing speak further, she left right away in a flash.

Now, Tian Mo Xing was faced with 007 alone after the other three disappeared. 007 merely stayed in his seat and they only stared at each other quietly seemingly short of words to say due to sheer awkwardness. Then, she laughed uneasily and rushed to another table, "I better get working on my report now..." She looked away and started retrieving some folders from her bag.


	6. Chapter 6: Task Fulfilled

Chapter 6

Task Fulfilled

In this Pi Li MIT Club room, Tian Mo Xing has been seated obediently at one table, twirling her pen with hesitance as she stared with a blank mind onto her notepad. Once in a while, she would steal some glances at the oblivious 007 over at the computer. As expected, she would be the first one to decide in breaking the unduly silence in the age-old room.

She began in a soft-spoken way, "Hey 007, is your illness bothering you again? How about if I get you some Ah Mu's hard-boiled eggs?"

He turned to her for a brief second, "It's okay, not to worry..." As soon as he said so, he shifted back his focus to the screen quietly.

Tian Mo Xing felt like hitting herself hard and before she knew it, she already did it instinctively. "Aww...Sorry 007! I should not have been forgetting all about them these days. I promise I'll surely get them for you from Ah Mu this time. I'll give her a call right after dismissal, okay?!"

"No," 007 said coolly. "It's better for you not to trouble Ah Mu..."

Tian Mo Xing's spirits instantly fell. "Oh," she looked down. "Then, what if it's me cooking them for you?"

007 added with a similar indifferent attitude this time, "My answer will still be the same..."

Tian Mo Xing dropped her pen and finally stood up, "Fine! I'll go get my reports!!" She stormed out of the room in utter fury, leaving 007 to watch dumbfoundedly at those many more stationery fallen off the desk onto the floor.

Outside and down the hallway, Tian Mo Xing only kept mumbling to herself without end of what a rotten day it has turned out to be. Everyone, including her, knew 007's responses can be cold sometimes, but he seemed to have gotten up from, or rather fallen off the wrong side of the bed today. "Can't he simply tell that I'm worried sick about him? If he's not well, I wouldn't be feeling great too! Unfeeling Zhan Shi De, I'm not gonna ask you anymore about my Ah Mu's eggs..." Lines like these got blurted out continuously until Tian Mo Xing managed to take out her locker keys.

Opening the compartment, she found out that her usually cluttered locker with numerous novels and post-it notes scattered here, there and everywhere, now turned into a few extremely neat piles. Before them, was placed surprisingly a pinkish strawberry-designed folder that she recognised to be not hers. Tian Mo Xing took it out with curiosity. Flipping it open, there were her previously-written reports for Pi Li MIT filed with some new ones. She figured out the latter to be those of 007's handwriting and he had redone everything especially for her. Tian Mo Xing felt so overwhelmed with gladness. She turned about and wanted to head back to the clubroom when familiar footsteps were heard. Not far off, there he was - 007 approaching towards her direction.

Tian Mo Xing only did one thing. That was, to run up to him and he caught her at just the right moment to draw her into a hug. She held fast onto him until her folder almost fell off her grip, "I don't know why I had to be the one always apologising today... "

He smiled, "Then, don't be...you trust me enough, didn't you?"

Her eyes starting to grow watery, "I did...but I'm still a girl who will get worried. I thought I won't be able to hold this secretary job for too long..."

He pulled apart and brushed away her fringes, "Didn't you ever say that we have telepathic connection? Just believe that your telepathic assistant will always be on the standby to reprocess your drafts and have them delivered to be ready for publication."

Tian Mo Xing squealed in delight, "So happy! But how did you get my locker keys by the way?"

"So you've forgotten we exchanged our spare keys a few days ago?" he reminded a-matter-of-factly.

"Ahh...Oh no, what has gotten to me?!" Tian Mo Xing bit her lip. She pondered for a while and then continued, "Wait, you still owe me an explanation. Why did you keep on avoiding my hard-boiled eggs for?"

He nodded and held her hands close, "Have you recover from those burns already?"

"Huh?" Tian Mo Xing hastily draw them back and stepped aside, feeling she has somewhat been caught red-handed.

007 only moved further closer. Tian Mo Xing retreated more.

He sighed, "How can a boyfriend be unaware of what his girlfriend's been doing for him secretly in the kitchen?"

Tian Mo Xing tried to avert his gaze, "You're directing this question at me?"

"Earth calling 007's girlfriend..." he implied and grabbed hold of her before she moved away again. When he has got her close to him once more, he added softly, "My telepathic sense tells me 007's girlfriend has burned her hands one day while preparing half-a-dozen hard-boiled eggs for him without his knowing."

Tian Mo Xing has to wipe her eyes dry and pretended to hit him on the chest, "Why do you have to be so clever? You must have arrived at my dorm earlier than usual that day..."

He smiled and held her tight, "See, you're clever too, to make use of your telepathic sense...Sorry that I mentioned only now. Have you felt any better?"

She nodded. He went on, "And you did tell me Ah Mu's gone for a trip back to her hometown for the week, you can't call her today after all..."

Tian Mo Xing gasped, "Oh..."

007 sensed her coming to realisation, "Li Xiao Xing....."

Tears trickled down her cheeks, "007, I'm......"

"Is there something bothering you, just tell me..." he offered with concern.

She shook her head strongly in between sobs, "There's.....just too much.....that has happened....since I come to know my own true family....."

He dried her tears, "I know, too much for a high-school-aged girl to bear....."

"I don't know, so drastic a change, I never dreamt of having any such thing like my current identity before..." she struggled.

"Being a child born out of wedlock is not easy...A lot of schoolmates are avoiding you these days?" 007 noted.

Although Tian Mo Xing did not reply verbally, he already knew her unspoken answer. "Don't worry, remember you still have me with you," he comforted. Noticing the time of his watch, he persuaded, "You must have skipped breakfast again, come on, let's go to the cafeteria. It's not good to endure an empty stomach." She silently agreed and they went slowly on their way.


	7. Chapter 7: Consolation

Consolation

"Here's the special I owe you since yesterday - Extra portion strawberry cake..." 007 presented the combination of pink, red and white attractive delight before Tian Mo Xing's eyes.

"Thanks," she only displayed a slight smile.

Seeing Tian Mo Xing's face hasn't brighten up in the least much, he added apologetically, "Sorry that I couldn't bring you this earlier. Hope it's not too late to cheer you up now."

A question popped up, and Tian Mo Xing asked him how did he manage to get the dessert for her.

"Oh, well," 007 stammered indecisively. "It's new on the menu..."

"007, you don't have to lie to me," Tian Mo Xing caught him. "I idolise every item with strawberries served in this cafeteria. How will I not know if there's something new like this they would offer? Besides, the cafe owner only reserves triple-layered stuff for special occasions..."

007 has to give in, "You really want to know how this thing came about?"

She nodded eagerly. 007 has to ponder longer than usual and this induced Tian Mo Xing's suspicion. Before she could say anything else, he blurted out, "Right, these days, the owner here is gathering statistics on the factors that cause people to like strawberries. I told him that my girlfriend, being unique as she is, likes all three of the scent, taste and appearance of this interesting fruit...This way, I earned a treat for both you and me...How does that sound?"

Tian Mo Xing took some time to absorbed what he said. Then, she grimaced, "When did I ever tell you that?"

007's idea backfired for he was even making the situation more difficult for Tian Mo Xing. In the hope of redeeming her confidence, he held her hand and pressed it lightly, "Just rest on the fact that we share the same telepathic connection. What I wanted you to know more is the purpose of why this cake is sitting before you right now..."

"The reason?" she wondered.

He affirmed, "It's because I wish to see the all happy Tian Mo Xing every day and not anymore sadness casting shadows on her lovely face. Like how these strawberries colour the plain white cream of the cake, her bubbliness can draw life to stone-cold beings. Because I know, her heart is just as beautiful as them."

Tian Mo Xing could not help but felt a little uneasy, "How can you be so long-winded..." She took up the fork and was still somewhat hesitant to take a bite.

Just then, students from tables all around started rushing out of their seats to the front of the cafeteria. Both of them figured that it must be time for the challenge of the day. 007 told Tian Mo Xing to wait for him while she helped herself to the food. He replaced the napkin and quickly got up to join the crowd down at the opposite end.

A loud moaning by a majority of the crowd was heard. It was realised that the challenge has started earlier than usual because the format and duration has been changed. It was an EQ test meant only for female students to participate and to be handed in before the day's dismissal. Every girl present began scrambling for the tall pile of test sheets resting on the counter.

Tian Mo Xing left the table and reached 007's side, "What's the matter?"

The owner pleasantly chipped in, "In line with the nature of prize for our challenge today, we have decided to accept answers to the EQ test from girls only."

"Huh? What's the kind of prize this time, Tai An Ge(meaning 'Brother', used here to address an older male?" Tian Mo Xing asked curiously.

"Oh," he gave a big smile and held up a pair of tickets, "Free admission to my aunt's Celine Rose Garden...aren't they awesome?"

Tian Mo Xing gave a moment of thought. She turned to 007 and finally made the decision. "Can I have a copy too?" she hurried forward where many students were aiming to grab theirs but nearly knocked onto someone and fell backwards. 007 caught her in time before she lost her balance.

"Okay, now...everyone..." Tai An Ge announced. "Due to the overwhelming response, I have run out of test sheets. Please stop fighting for them..."

Tian Mo Xing was overly disappointed, "How can that be?"

007 went over to the counter, "Tai An Ge, are you sure you don't have anymore to spare?"

He shook his head impatiently.

007 and Tian Mo Xing only looked at each other without help. As they were about to head back to their table, a student from a corner patted Tian Mo Xing's shoulder, "Hey there, I have an extra copy for you..."

She offered her the test sheet, making Tian Mo Xing instantly glad, "Wow!"

The student smiled, "Hope this will help!" Tian Mo Xing wanted to say a word of thanks with gratitude. Out of the blue, 007 swiftly reached over and took hold of the papers before she did. "Thank you," he expressed gravely.

"No problem, I take it you have a rather protective boyfriend," she implied before walking away.

After she had left, Tian Mo Xing felt guilty in some way, "007, you should have let me say it to her just now instead."

He turned to her, "Sorry, there's dirt on this copy. Just give me a minute and I'll be right back with you."

"But,...that's only a small matter, it's okay, 007...I'll..." Tian Mo Xing urged, but without much help. 007 only interrupted, "The cake's getting cold...don't worry about this." He then left and went on his way. Tian Mo Xing only stood at the spot despondently for some time, seeing him disappeared behind the door and out into the open.

Holding onto the papers in his hand, 007 was at least relieved that the huge writing in red on the last page test sheet managed to escape Tian Mo Xing's wistful eyes. It read, "For Sheng Ying's Illegitimate Fool!" Now, he has to do the job of photocopying a fresh clean sheet.


	8. Chapter 8: Out of Touch

Out of Touch

"Now,...that's weird...after being engaged for so long...there's no one to pick up the phone...What's with this irresponsible technician?!" Teacher Cherry complained while getting terribly fade up.

A knock was heard on the door. "Come on in," she offered.

The door was opened and a man dressed in overall with a cap and thick black-framed glasses on appeared at the doorway. "Hi, Miss Cherry Tao?" he inquired.

A frustrated Teacher Cherry only answered with an impatient nod without even looking. Her focus was still solely on the call she was currently making.

"Nice to meet you," he smiled widely. "I'm here to stand in for the technician, Mr. Qiu, in case you still have no idea about it..."

Teacher Cherry instantly took note of the man after hearing what he just said, "Really?!"

He nodded affirmingly. She rushed forward and gave him a warm handshake, "Nice to meet you, I'm Miss Cherry...So how may I address you, Mister?"

"Oh," he adjusted his glasses a little. "Just call me Jack..."

"Oh," she grinned. "Mister Jack, you see, here we have a computer which is....." Her voice trailed off after he raised a hand, which seemingly hinted there was no need for her to provide any further information.

"It's okay," he smiled good-naturedly. "I had been briefed about your case already. All you need to do now is let me handle the job." He then gave the cue for her to step aside and allow him to move over to the computer's side of Teacher Cherry's table.

After doing some thorough checks, he turned to Teacher Cherry who was standing curiously beside him, "Have you contacted Mr Qiu yet?"

Teacher Cherry shook her head innocently. "Well," he shrugged a-matter-of-factly. "You better try to touch-base with him as soon as possible while I start working around the problem here. There's a couple of stuff I would need which he has not properly handed over to me yet..."

"Oh," Teacher Cherry's relief now came to be replaced with reluctance. "Stuff you would need?"

"Of course," he nodded without mercy. Teacher Cherry has no choice but to take out her phone and continued on the quest to try reaching Mr Qiu again. Her frustrations also returned in full swing once more.

"Hey, can you please press the numbers more quickly? We have wasted more than an hour not taking any action! This is really serious, man..." 747 urged 187 forcefully until it yielded the opposite effect on the latter.

"Quiet, would you please?! Can't you see that I can't stand being rushed like a dog?!" 187 retorted with a sourly sour face.

"Well, you really asked for this yourself! I have never come across any Pi Li MIT member who would set aside his mission in order to throw time away and buy gifts for his precious ones," 747 fired back.

187's attention was distracted as his anger flared, "How will I know that there's no phone reception in the gift shop?! Besides, I wouldn't have gone there if you hadn't the need to borrow a washroom!"

747 only shot him with an even more indignant look, "Fine, so you want me to blame myself for having a terrible diarrhea?! If I hadn't the need to borrow a washroom, would I have overheard someone saying his target of the day would be Sheng Ying's acting principal's office?!"

187 sighed, "Okay, you said both the culprit and yourself were in the same restroom, right? Why don't you stop him at the same moment then?!"

747 nearly could not take such dense question, "Oh my god, Mister Qian...Didn't I say that I was having diarrhea? I was in the cubicle,man and it really hurts so much, even going right up to your brain! No one seems to be paying attention to my warning, Teacher Cherry's line is engaged...What else can I do? I even had to search every street and alley for you after racing out from the toilet, good old partner..."

"Alright!" 187 threw his hands up in defeat. "So the whole fault is upon me! My bad for queuing up for half-an-hour just to contribute my part in the charity sale event!"

747 became enlightened the next second, "Charity sale event?? Hey, how would I know about such a thing?"

187 gave up in saying any further useless explanation and ignored him to redial Teacher Cherry's number. 747 then patted him lightly on the back, "Fine, I'm sorry..."

187 only shifted away, "Shallow talking..."

"Come on!" 747 found it hard to withstand such murmur. "I'm seriously apologising!"

"Everyone!" Teacher Cherry's agitated voice came through.

"Teacher Cherry!!" 747 and 187 responded to their bluetooth headsets.

"Oh," Miss Cherry sounded anxious. "A Problem again! I just lost the technician who left my office while I was busy calling another. Now, my computer keeps asking for login details when I have never set up any...I can't access anything on it..."

747 and 187 looked at each other questioningly. Then, 747 informed her that they would be heading back to Sheng Ying. On the other hand, 187 noticed at a distance, the computer centre they were supposed to find out more about, has its shop name sign taken down by some workers. They replaced it by putting up a new different one instead. He hurriedly rushed to the front of the shop and inquired. A worker only kindly said that the renovation for an all-new shop has just been completed.


	9. Chapter 9: Missing Pieces

Missing Pieces

007 advanced back down the hallway, examining intently every corner that could possibly lay hold of what he has been searching for over the past half-hour. Scrutinizing both left and right, there was no sign of it. He moved on to the path where there was a higher probability of succeeding. Unfortunately, the dim lighting was working at its worst along narrow corridors. They served to cast long shadows and that only caused ever lesser optimum field of vision for him amidst struggles. He tighten his grip on the papers in his hand. Indeed, he has to get them to Tian Mo Xing within the least span of time possible but without the bluetooth headset he has got so used to wearing, he felt his sense of responsibility amiss. One more turn on the left and there was once again, the area lined on both sides with classic high-school metal lockers. He recalled the moment when Tian Mo Xing and him had ended up there earlier at the far opposite end. It seemed that things were not as rosy as they first appeared. News of Lu Ke Ying and her being the illegitimate children of the principal has spread like fire within days. The whole school or rather the neighbourhood, must have known everything, or parts of the story at least. Another brain-wrecking issue to face.

As he trotted on at faster speed, his attention was caught by something flashing on the floor. It was familiarly bluish and 007 recognised it instantly with relief. He ventured towards it and stooped down to pick it up. In the silence, another set of distinct footsteps loud and clear echoed through the halls as its owner gradually approached. 007 awaited at his current spot.

As expected, Tian Mo Xing appeared out of a corner, looking quite unsure, and holding a takeout box in her hand. After walking further, her gaze was glued to another headset shining luminously on the smooth greyish concrete floor. When she finally reached in front of 007, she too knelt down and fingered the gadget obliviously.

He knew, behind the expressionless face, there hid unmistakable self-disappointment. "Li Xiao Xing,..." he uttered softly, careful not to arouse her overwhelming feelings unnecessarily.

She set down the box, and held up the headset quietly, her eyes still fixed on it, saying, "007,...as a Pi Li MIT member, if I can't even keep this important tool with me during the times when I seriously should, can I say I'm bound to fail more?"

"Why should you? When I'm also doing the same thing..." he remarked.

She shook her head in refusal of his answer, "You did not...If you hadn't rushed up to me a while ago, you wouldn't have left your headset here! You have never been so careless in the past...It's all just because of me giving you distractions all the time..."

He moved closer to turn her to face him, "Even so, I'm willing to be distracted by you, 'cause that won't give me any guilt...I only feel more fortunate..."

She lifted her gaze but did not seem convinced. Tian Mo Xing wondered if she should take in his words. "What if I keep being forgetful?" her eyes now turning watery.

He held her hands firmly, "Trust me, I will find a way to end it for you..."

After some hesitance, 007 finally received an accepting nod from her. He dried her eyes and helped her up. Tian Mo Xing faced 007 doubtfully as he put on her headset for her, "007, do you think my condition will get anymore serious?"

"Just maintain an optimistic outlook," he assured. She took heed of his advice and they went on their way.

After walking some distance, Tian Mo Xing suddenly cried, "I forgot the cake in the box!" She quickly turned back and raced down the hallway, with 007 trailing behind.

"It's really there!" she exclaimed after spotting it on the floor. She rushed forward without delay, stepping on something in the process.

"Careful!" 007 shouted and took her arm. To shield her from the collapse of a dozen of hefty books and binders from the locker's top, he spun himself forward before her to push Tian Mo Xing some steps backwards. Caught without warning, she missed her balance and fell forward, landing on top of 007 as they both tumbled onto the floor.

Only the majority of a heap of books barely escaped 007, with some lighter ones splattered across his forehead.

"007! Are you okay?" Tian Mo Xing forced herself up as she shoved away those books.

He held his head now struck with some light pain and Tian Mo Xing quickly helped him up. "Sorry, it's all my fault, I shouldn't have left the cake behind...and now, you're hurt because of me..." Tian Mo Xing's voice started quivering.

"Don't blame yourself, " he managed to console while attempting to harbour his pain.

Tears began to well up, "You don't have to say that...007, just scold me! I'm always causing trouble! I'm only a....." Tian Mo Xing's voice faded off the next moment when 007 pulled her to himself and pressed his lips against hers...

It felt as though the outburst of sorrow came to a sudden stop. The world was only spinning for the both of them. 007's scent was all so strong and near. Likewise, the soft touch and fragrance of Tian Mo Xing's lips was as solely meant for him as it had been many times before.

When they pulled apart, 007 whispered as he touched her cheeks, "Should you ever shed those precious tears again, I'll kiss you 'till they stop flowing..."

Tian Mo Xing only wiped them dry and looked at him helplessly. He pulled her into a hug again and told, "Remember what I said today..."

Tian Mo Xing nodded as she lost herself in his embrace.

He then added, "The cake has been squashed by those books. I had better cook for you some instant noodles instead. Let's head to our dorm..."

Tian Mo Xing agreed.


	10. Chapter 10: Overwhelmed

Overwhelmed

When 007 and Tian Mo Xing were nearly at the doorway to her dorm, she stopped him as he was taking out his keys.

"What's wrong," he asked with concern.

"Can I ask you... " TMX hesitated

007 moved closer, "What's that?"

"Just wondering... why is it you can always manage to see through my problems?" she looked at him doubtfully.

He displayed a subtle smile. Then, taking a step forward to her side, he held her hand, "Can my bright Tian Mo Xing tell me... how did you feel when I kiss you a while ago?"

Unknowingly, the very little distance between them caused Tian Mo Xing's heart to race without warning. She almost thought he could even hear them. The next moment, she could not help blushing. Out of impulse, she lifted her hand up to her cheek in an attempt to hide the embarrassment.

"It's warm," 007 said as he too felt her face since he was holding her hand as well.

"Oohh..." Tian Mo Xing quickly let go.

007 smiled seeing how adorable she was. He turned her to face him again,"Was my question too difficult?"

"Well..." she fidgeted

"How about ... what do you think is the distance between our telepathic connection?"

"Huh?" Tian Mo Xing looked up at him blankly.

He nodded with implication and Tian Mo Xing only tried to think hard. He then gave away, "Let's just say there 's no such thing as distance in our own world."

He pulled her into a hug and uttered softly," Li Xiao Xing, trust me to handle all your problems, regardless of whether you want to hide them or not."

She nodded as she let all worries wander far for a moment. Their embrace seemed to provide her a from of soulful escape.

After some time, their headset started beeping. Following, they heard Teacher Cherry's call.

"007! Tian Mo Xing! Are you both okay?" Teacher Cherry's anxious voice resounded.

"We're alright!" They answered in unison.

"Good then, please come over to my office..."

"Got it!" 007 replied but urged Tian Mo Xing to go back to her dorm and prepare herself some breakfast. After she reluctantly agreed, he left.

At the principal's office, a number of school staff were gathered before an already worry-stricken Teacher Cherry.

Most of them needed to access some database files on her computer but it was not possible. Teacher Cherry has to persuade them to give some patience before she could get the system restored. One of them, a lab supervising teacher was not able to send over the student attendance report and so was rambling without end of how she could not let the student proceed on with their day's work.

"Miss Cherry, I have reminded you many times to send me my work station's password. Yet you did not. I'm afraid that I'm only able to store information on my computer for up to 24 hours at most," Teacher Cherry's secretary told flatly.

"Oh, sorry,'' flustered Miss cherry apologised with regret.

Another senior teacher was also overly displeased, "Miss Cherry, I got the info that Principal Tao has begged the school's board of directors really hard for you to be able to substitute his place. Based on your level of educational attainment, you were actually not qualified to take up such duties without a first class Honours degree. But I don't see you living up to everyone's expectations. May I warn you that your poor perfomance of the job might result in the termination of your post eventually, should you fail to resolve this problem as soon as possible..."

Teacher Cherry indeed has a great responsibility to bear now," Oh okay, I understand..."

At this point, both 187 and 747 finally arrived on the scene.

"So Miss Cherry? Have you decided on how should I go about conducting my lab sessions? The students are waiting..." the lab supervisor questioned.

Teacher Cherry thought briefly before stressing that all lab sessions for that day would be cancelled.

Another one added, "And what about the score list I need? You told me not to do backup copies so soon so I don't have any with me now..."

"Oh no..." Teacher Cherry bit her lip. "I am very sorry, everyone...All I can say is please do wait and give me more time to settle this..."

The next minute, 007 reached the office, only to see a huge crowd surrounding a poor exhausted Teacher Cherry. The problem was indeed being brought up to a higher level this time.


	11. Chapter 11: Underlying Connections

Underlying Connections

After all staff members have left Teacher Cherry's office, 007 asked if they have managed to contact the technician mentioned that morning.

Teacher Cherry only moaned in frustration as she fell back onto the back-hurting chair, "Ouch..."

747 was seemingly displeased, "So you still have no idea what had happened? 007, how could you manage to stay so ignorant? Just what time is it....."

Teacher Cherry cut him off halfway, "Please, I don't want any likely argument during this hour...There are already more than enough things I need to deal with..." She sighed deeply and tried to get herself to think straight.

187 went over to her table, "Sorry, Miss Cherry...we know how serious the problem has turned into. But on our way back, we didn't manage to catch sight of anyone else leaving by the school entrance...So you really lost the technician?"

Teacher Cherry scratched her head helplessly, "Stupid me...I just kept on caling Mr Qiu even after I went to the washroom. I should have come back quickly to check on that guy but I just wasted so much time unnecessarily..."

"Can't we possibly get another technician from elsewhere?" 007 suggested.

"Oh," Teacher Cherry recalled, then shook her head. "This school has a contract obligation with Excel Service Centre and we can't have another company do the job on their behalf. Aside from paying double the amount to both companies if it happens, we have to be responsible for breaching the contract. The board of directors will find out,...unless,...of course, if I handle the matter discreetly..."

Everyone turned solemn as they attempted to work out an alternate solution in the midst of silence. Then, Teacher Cherry interrupted, "Fine, just forget about what I said earlier..." She took out a thick book of directory listings and her cellphone. After flipping through some pages, her finger rested on one page. Taking in a deep breath, she started punching some numbers.

Following some ringing tone, 007 stepped forward and took the cellphone from her. She looked at him wonderingly, "Anything wrong?"

"Since the matter is already a big mess, let us prevent it from getting worse. We can't give the board of directors any more chance of removing you from your current position. I'll try to figure out a better solution," 007 assured her.

"007,..." Teacher Cherry was touched by her student's faith.

He nodded and returned her phone before hurrying over to the computer. Teacher Cherry offered her seat for him as he began working on it. Briefly after running his fingers all over some keys, he arrived at the swift conclusion, "There's actually neither password nor username to decode, only the settings have been modified..."

"So what should we do next?" 747 questioned impatiently.

007 studied what was on the screen again. He took some time before saying, "The active network option is turned on...Teacher Cherry, is this computer here connected to any other?"

She crossed her arms and struggled to remember.

187 then helped to think as well. After a short second, he snapped, "There's once when Teacher Cherry printed a document saved in a foreign location using the computer over at our clubroom!"

Miss Cherry's eyes instantly lit up, "That's right! The information sheet you just said was actually from here..."

"Then, let's head to MIT room as quick as possible..." 007 reminded. They all rushed out of the office.

Once they were back at their usual place, everyone's focus was glued to the computer which 007 quickly started up in a flash.

"The response is slower than the other day. But finally, the connection is resuming..." 007 uttered as he clicked on the mouse.

"What? What is that you're referring to?" 747 was eager to know but also confused.

"Ya, which kind of connection?" 187 added with similar tone.

"Mastermind Centre's CD...We have already reached Stage 5 of Game 2 without even realising..." 007 replied with disappointment.

"So what have you actually done before all these?" 187 asked.

"I created a new database file to imply Teacher Cherry's database crashing yesterday. Then, entering Mastermind Computer Centre's address for the discovery of Yuan Lan Ying leaving with the suspected technician last night. Just right now, I toggled the connection between Teacher Cherry's office computer and this one we're looking at..." 007 detailed the steps.

"Hmmm...so what else could be missing?" 747 said as he pondered.

"Indeed a mystery...Hey wait, I think we should need to refer to those progress reports! 007..." Teacher Cherry came up with the idea.

"Ya, 007!" 747 urged. "Where's Tian Mo Xing? She's not here!!" He looked about the room. Teacher Cherry and 187 also began to wonder.

"I'm afraid there's something I ought to say something about here..." 007 disclosed.

"What's the matter? Is Tian Mo Xing okay?" Teacher Cherry asked more with concern.

"Hurry up and say it!" 747 pressed him.

007 continued soberly, "Although I don't have much counselling experience, I got the feeling that she might be undergoing a mild episode of post-traumatic depression. I noticed she's being more forgetful than usual eversince today. The causes could be the crucial stage of coming to terms with one's own biological family background and the need to face negative responses by schoolmates to widespread rumours..."

"Oh dear, Tian Mo Xing..." Teacher Cherry was consequently feeling so bad. "It's all just because of those ruthless board of directors. I don't know why they have to force father to reveal the true reason behind him leaving the country with Teacher Angel. Nowadays, even I have to face discrimination from almost every school staff! This is too much!" Teacher Cherry slumped onto the sofa in a fit of discontentment.

She then added further, "007, don't worry...just do me a favour in taking good care of Tian Mo Xing and I'll ensure that she will not have to face this problem for too long..."

"Miss Cherry, " 747 was feeling greatly neglected. "Don't you forget we can do that for you too...And does that mean we have to deal with more than one case this time?"

"Oh..." she became aware. "So both about Tian Mo Xing and the problem with my crazy computer..."

Everyone looked at one another, as if being struck with indecision on how to handle the matters thrown before them. Ironically, the urgency of the situation on Teacher Cherry's side was being offset by the current difficulties encountered by her half-sister, Tian Mo Xing.


	12. Chapter 12: Mistaken

Mistaken

Tian Mo Xing slowly opened the door to the computer lab. Wondering why it was more quiet than usual, she noticed the lights inside were off.

She turned curious and entered to switch them on while holding firmly to her binder. Unawarely and from a corner of her eye, she thought she saw some tall moving shadow raced out and disappeared from the other doorway at the far end of the room. Tian Mo Xing was doubtful for a while if her eyes were playing tricks on her. She set down her stuff and rushed to the door but saw that it was closed. Perhaps, she really had been over thinking these days. Observing that the room was indeed emptied of people, she decided to reclaim her thing from one of the computer desks and deduced that there must be a change in schedule she was not being notified of. She quickly headed out of the room but soon suddenly, she collided into someone.

"Ahhhh...." Tian Mo Xing grimaced and looked up to see who it was. " Miss Yeh ...."

The lady before her did not seem to be happy at all. "Li Xiao Xing, are you not aware that students should not be present in the lab when there is no class in progress?" she demanded sternly.

"Huh? No class..." Tian Mo Xing repeated. "So I guessed correctly ...."

"What about 'guesses' ? "Miss Yeh sounded all the more indignant. "Didn't you pay attention to the announcement?"

"Oh...." Tian Mo Xing stepped back. "I was ....."

Miss Yeh merely cut her off, " I don't want to see you disregarding classroom regulations again ..."

Tian Mo Xing quickly nodded, " Yes, teacher...." She bent down to pick up her fallen binder. However, Miss Yeh actually did the same for her.

Both of them paused upon seeing something beside the half-zipped binder. Miss Yeh then slowly picked it up. "Class 1A surveillance video ....." She finally made out what was actually in her hand after studying briefly at it.

Tian Mo Xing thought she heard wrongly and went on to check her binder. There was nothing else in it. Added to that, she couldn't find her familiar pink name sticker. "This isn't mine!" She gasped.

It was the hardest thing to imagine a teacher like Miss Yeh believing her at this point in time. Tian Mo Xing begged, "Really .... it's true, Miss Yeh ...." She turned about and dashed back into the computer lab.

After turning back on the lights, Tian Mo Xing searched frantically about every single table and seat. Luck was not on her side and her very own binder was now out of sight. "Please ...where are you?" Tian Mo Xing muttered and her tone was panicky.

"Miss Yeh went over to her side, "Come with me to the counselling room now, Li Xiao Xing ... It's no use..."

"But ...." She struggled aimlessly.

"I don't want any delay, " the teacher warned.

The day has indeed turned beyond expectation. Poor Tian Mo Xing was still blur as to what had in fact happened. It was even more overwhelming when Miss Yeh started interrogating her in the dimly-lit closed environment among all places and corner in the school.

"So Li Xiao Xing, " Miss Yeh stood up dauntingly from the chair before her as she continued. "Not only did you steal the surveillance video, but the film inside the tape had even been skilfully removed. How will you explain your actions?"

"I did not steal anything, Miss Yeh ..... the binder isn't mine ..." Tian Mo Xing attempted hard to explain.

Miss Yeh folded her arms without giving heed, " That doesn't serve as any reasonable excuse or guarantee. Did you know that you can be punished heavily for tampering dishonestly with Sheng Ying School's property?"

"Please, ... I'm telling the truth...." Tian Mo Xing shakily pleaded even though she was convinced there seemed to be no use to.

"Well, " Miss Yeh was unmoved. "You only need to answer me if you had been into the computer room and that there was no one else in there .... I don't want to hear any further story...."

Tian Mo Xing sniffed and only nodded in surrender. Not wanting to waste any remaining time, Miss Yeh decided to report Tian Mo Xing's case to Teacher Cherry's office.

Not long, over in the clubroom, Teacher Cherry's cellphone started ringing.

"Hello?"

It was her secretary, "Miss Cherry, Miss Yeh has just reported a serious theft incidence from the counselling room."

"Oh , again? Now, who is the offender this time?" Miss Cherry urged anxiously.

"Huh?! Li Xiao Xing?! " Teacher Cherry was taken aback. The others -,007, 747 and 187 were also dumbfounded.

Teacher Cherry only spent the least possible amount of time to rush straight into the room where Tian Mo Xing was being detained. Miss Yeh then told she has to go for her next class immediately before leaving.

"Tian Mo Xing....." Teacher Cherry uttered as she witnessed her student's downcast face.

"Teacher Cherry, even if you're kind enough to trust me, no one else would ...."

Teacher Cherry went over to her, "Whoever says that only I will trust you? There are also 007, 747, 187, your Ah Mu, Teacher Angel, your dad and Lu Ke Yi ...oopps ....er ....ya ....each one of us loves you heeps... moreover, I'm your big sister! It's my obligation to trust you!"

"But...." Tian Mo Xing 's eyes were now brimming with tears.... Before she could retort further, Teacher Cherry couldn't stand seeing her this way and quickly gave her a comforting hug.

She told, "Tian Mo Xing.... Just leave everything to me...I'll strive with all my energy to convince Miss Yeh that you're not the one to steal the video tape. Don't let any single trace of worry bother you ..."

"Sis ......" Tian Mo Xing cried out for the first time.

"It'll be fine ... don't cry ...." Teacher Cherry wiped her tears dry. "Ya, you still have me and the Pi Li MIT team..."

Tian Mo Xing looked at her half older sister still undecided on trusting before giving a light nod.

Teacher Cherry once more affirmed that everything would be alright for Tian Mo Xing. She tried to listen to her, although worries were still tugging at a corner of her heart.

When Tian Mo Xing exited room, 007 was already outside waiting right in front of her. With a heavy heart, she found it tough to face him.

Seeing Tian Mo Xing so hurt, he began, "Remember? .... That when Lady Celestine managed to learn of the most precious thing in her life, what did she say to herself?"

"Well, " she replied and slowly lifted her tearful gaze up at him with clear self-disappointment. She cited, "It's that 'I will cause its brightness to shine forth like the most, beautiful jewel in the world, ever so pure and without blemish.' "

He took a step closer and embraced her the next second. He said softly, "Know what? I don't want to see this precious jewel of my heart burdened with hopelessness. I am here to give her much-needed support and strength. If you want to face anything alone, I'll choose to interfere... no matter where you go ...."

Tian Mo Xing grasped onto his blazer, "007, I don't know why that I keep running into mess after mess...."

He assured, " Just like what you're doing right now, keep holding onto me.... we'll face those mess together." He let her rest without hesitance against himself.


	13. Chapter 13: Time Out

First of all, thank you Callie for all your lovely comments. They really encourage me alot...will keep on trying to come up with nice ideas. Again, thanks for your interest in this fic. And daphnewong, thank you too...I'll do my best!! Pi Li MIT is indeed awesome!!

----------

Time-Out

"Hey, Huang Hui Hong, can't you speed up your movements? More and more people are taking this route now..." 187 rushed 747 as he tried to avoid passers-by in the hallway outside from spotting at the doorway,

In the lab room, 747 was now running breathlessly from one computer to the next and doing quick rough checks on each of them. He protested, "Patience,...would you please? Look at what I'm doing non-stop...We have got Teacher Cherry's permission tag so don't you worry...I'm already working to the fullest of my limits this time!"

187 sighed without help as he continued to stand-guard at the door, "You must have forgotten the last really important warning. Teacher Cherry said we could only use the tag as a last resort and after that headstrong Miss Yeh decided to mark us down for breaking the rules...Please wake up, Mr 747..."

"Aha!" 747 exclaimed the next minute.

"What 'Aha'? Teacher Cherry even said that Miss Yeh's class has ended 10 minutes ago." 187 checked his branded watch. "Hmmm...based on her build and a typical woman in her early 30s' rate of walking, distance of her classroom from here, she might be predicted to arrive at this destination in less than 2 minutes' time...So, hurry up, Hero!"

747 eyed him with a displeased look, "Mr 187, what I meant by 'Aha' 10 seconds ago was that...you need to come over here." He beckoned him to the computer right infront of him.

"What's that?" he paced quickly to his side.

"The screensaver was left on," 747 noted and moved the mouse a little to show his curious partner. They both stared with eyes wide at the monitor as a result.

"Hey, what's with this lousy trick?!" 187 was thoroughly dissatisfied at what they've got.

The screen read, "You have run out of free hints for Game 2 - IIII."

"Something fishy...or what?" 747 felt that they needed to decode the message in one way or another.

Some blocks away, in a particular building within Sheng Ying, 007 and Tian Mo Xing were together in the music room without anyone's knowledge. He was playing a composition on the piano gracefully with Tian Mo Xing seated despondently beside him.

"Do you have any idea on what does this music talk about?" she asked him wistfully. The melody deeply touched her heart, as if she was being offered an alternate solace in their own little corner of this confusing world.

He turned to her, "Want to hear a poem from me?"

She nodded lightly and he began, "On this Night,....."

When a shooting star comes by,

I earnestly close my eyes,

Wishing silently out of a heart's deepest desires,

That a day may come when I'll hear your reply...

That flying tail of white,

Races across the sky up high,

Like a second splash of diamond sparkles,

That shines strongly on a dark clear night...

At this lonesome meeting place,

I seem to lose touch of time,

Every minute goes by without the sound of a cry,

Moanings of doubt empty themselves into space that stretches deep and wide...

Reaching beyond the farthest woods and caverns,

Diving into the reservoir of aesthetic riches,

There's more to the mind than meets the eye,

A strife between feeling pleasurable and contrite.

When he finished, she smiled briefly and remarked, "I have been unable to think and write just as well as you these days...007 is always awesome..."

He ended the song, "Writing is to the heart what expression is to the soul...But that doesn't mean you're in any way neglecting the progress of life."

Tian Mo Xing only looked down in sober silence.

Just then, the sound of rustling keys was heard coming from the outside beyond the carefully closed doors. They both looked on and awaited with premonition. Following, the locks turned loudly and afterwards, there were footsteps leaving before they faded out down the hallway.

"Oh no!" Tian Mo Xing cried as she got up from the piano chair and ran to the door. 007 did the same and they soon realised that they had been locked in.

"I should have known this!" Tian Mo Xing lamented as she managed without success to open the door repeatedly.

007 tried to calm her down, "It's okay, Tian Mo Xing..."

"Don't call me Tian Mo Xing, I'm more of a Jinx instead," she blamed herself hard while continuing to push the stubborn door unrelentingly.

He turned her to face him, "My Tian Mo Xing will always be Tian Mo Xing. She's angelic, not a Jinx..." He hugged her tight, "Don't worry, I'll inform everyone else that we're in here..." 007 then notified the others through his headset and assured Tian Mo Xing that everything would be fine.

For the remaining time, they merely waited for the rest of the gang to come to their aid.

"007,..." Tian Mo Xing suddenly spoke.

"What's that?" he returned.

"Thank you for bringing me here," she uttered softly.

He displayed a slight smile while holding her towards himself as before, "Why thanking me?"

"'Cause I know...that you care for me...sorry that I had been acting so weak," she expressed. The next moment, she tiptoed and planted a kiss on his cheek. He was somewhat taken aback, then brushed gently aside her silky smooth bangs.

She continued, "And the song you played, I'm glad I have the chance to listen to it...a piece that you'll be drawn to...even until when the whole world ultimately has all its last lights out..."

He added, "It's the first time I got to play it infront of someone..."

"How can I be that lucky?" Tian Mo Xing felt a little overwhelmed as she closed her eyes to rest against his warmth.

"Lucky?" his breath could be felt so close to her ear. "Yes, lucky star...'cause I'm also naive to believe that for each person on earth, there'll always be this shooting star shining for them sooner or later in life."

"Oh, can it appear in any form?" she asked.

"Well," he thought for a moment. "Haven't you been always treating each hundred airplanes up above as a shooting star?"

"007, can I tell you a secret?"

He nodded. Tian Mo Xing began slowly, "I dreamt last night, that those hundred airplanes I have seen before from the sky gradually flew down one by one and landed on the ground...I was watching them..."

007 listened with interest as she went on, "Then, I was searching,...everywhere...asking myself where had my shooting star gone to...it's been replaced with giant-sized machines...I was all alone..."

Tian Mo Xing sounded as though she was abruptly overtaken with surging emotions, 'There was no one else around...The airplanes seemed so lifeless..."

007 comforted as he has her ever closer in his arms, "No, they're not...trust me it's not true...I'm right here with you...Li Xiao Xing..."


	14. Pulling Through

The school bell sounded and 007 checked his wrist watch. Tian Mo Xing rested peacefully on his shoulder as she had fallen asleep since a half-hour ago. They were seated on the floor and against the door behind them. Beholding her sweet face, 007 was careful not to wake her. To have a moment like this by her side was blissful enough to leave an everlasting imprint in his heart and mind. She was as endearing as a vulnerable angel to him. Too charming to have the feeling described fully.

007 was almost unaware of the agitated footsteps reaching closer from the hallway outside. A sudden abrupt pause and the next thing he knew, someone was pushing hard against the creaky door. 007 sat up instantly and was about to nudge Tian Mo Xing when an impressive force was applied against the door. It burst open without warning. Within a split second before it could knock hard onto the both of them inside, 007 threw himself in between the door and Tian Mo Xing, successfully shielding her from the blow, though with a price. 007 winced as a result.

"Ahhh...007! What kind of a door is this?!" Teacher Cherry muttered under her breath.

007 willed himself to endure the pain and was relieved to see that Tian Mo Xing remained as undisturbed as ever, showing no signs to have awakened. He heaved a sigh.

"I promise that I'll get a better key from the administration next time...Sorry, 007...How's Tian Mo Xing now?" Teacher Cherry invested a great amount of effort to pull out the rusty heavy key straight from the hole, nearly losing her balance in the process.

"Phew, I just might fire that clerk anytime soon!" Teacher Cherry cursed, then tried to control her temper. She stooped down, but was too preoccupied to notice that 007 was actually hurt.

"Thank you, teacher," 007 managed to utter.

"Huh?" Teacher Cherry thought she should help them up. "No such need to thank me at a time like this..."

"It's okay, Teacher Cherry," he hinted. "Tian Mo Xing's still asleep...She's been really stressed-out," 007 shifted Tian Mo Xing a little to let her rest in his arms.

"007," Teacher Cherry began to inform soberly. "747 and 187 are still busy working on the computer. I'm not sure if they can fully understand each of the steps you've walked them through over the phone. But let's hope they had," she pressed a hand on his shoulder to assure.

He nodded, "I know everyone of us has been putting our very best to solve this case..."

Teacher Cherry acknowledged his persistent spirit.

007 then told her that he would be bringing Tian Mo Xing back to her dorm. Miss Cherry offfered a hand while 007 helped Tian Mo Xing up to lie on his back in order to carry her the piggy-back style. She felt so touched seeing how her sister was so nicely taken care of.

"Teacher, always keep us updated of the latest progress," 007 reminded.

"For sure," Miss Cherry promised. 007 turned about and prepared to leave.

"Wait, 007..." she stopped him.

He looked back. Teacher Cherry appeared somewhat thoughtful, before adding, "007,...really thank you very much!"

He smiled briefly, then gave a light nod and went on their way. Seeing them left, Teacher Cherry relaxed on her worries. She scanned the vacant room before locking it up again.

Down the hallway and round a corner, 007 felt Tian Mo Xing stirred a little. He checked on her with concern but her adorable eyes were still closed. He smiled and tilted his head a little to peck her on the cheek.

As if in response, Tian Mo Xing started mumbling unintelligibly in the midst of her dream.

'What's that?" 007 whispered fondly.

"100 airplanes...007, are you in there?..." Tian Mo Xing's words became clearer. "I thought I saw a Boeing 007 somewhere..."

"Really?" 007 admired her power of imagination.

"No...my 100th airplane, where are you?"

"Right here, Princess Tian Mo Xing," 007 said playfully.

"No," Tian Mo Xing sounded feeling dreadful. "How could I have eaten you up before? Oh dear,...so horrible!" She tightened her grip on his shirt, which he least expected. She has still got her tough strength after all.

"It doesn't matter, Li Xiao Xing, your heart could fit me in..." 007 joked.

"Whoever's Princess Tian Mo Xing?" she continued to ask subconsciously. It brought another smile to his solemn face, "Yes, you're...a Princess Tian Mo Xing who especially needs her Prince dearly..." Unknowingly, 007 too let out a yawn as he paced on.

Over in the principal's office, Teacher Cherry was extremely furious about what she learned of her secretary had done.

"I can't believe you would dare to do this before gaining my permission! Is this all you can reward me with after turning the whole office upside down to get you your password?" Miss Cherry fumed.

"Well," the secretary shot her an offended look. "Miss Yeh mentioned that it was a serious case and we could not let the student off too easily..."

Back in the MIT clubroom, 747 and 187 were struggling hard together to get through various options' hurdles appearing on the monitor one after another.

"Okay, uncheck this...select that...check this...close that..." 747 reiterated each thing he did while 187 marked them done one by one against the list of instructions 007 has given.

"Oh please...do you have to pause for 3 seconds in between saying each action?" 187 grew impatient.

747 eyed him with displeasure, "You think I'm a computer geek or what? Besides, I knew you're as slow as me..."

"As if,..." 187's tone was no better.

747 attempted to ignore him and proceeded on the same, "Okay, still no noticeable response...click this...click that..."

187 simply could not stand his pattern any further. He flinged his pen onto the desk loudly and stormed over in 747's direction, "Can't you cut that out?! Let me do it instead!"

"Say wha...t?" 747 remained as collected. Then, unexpected silence.

He switched his gaze to see that 187 was tripping over some cables and afterwards, landed with a thud on the floor. "How clumsy you are...Hey 187, you've broken off the intranet connection!"

On the other side, Teacher Cherry continued to lecture, "But that doesn't mean you could just enter the suspected offence into her student conduct record! Can't you give some respect by asking me first before doing anything like that?!"

"But, Miss Yeh..."

Teacher Cherry interrupted, "From now on, I don't want to hear the name, 'Miss Yeh' from you. Clear?!"

The secretary was hesitant and Miss Cherry thought she would have to carry on arguing. As she waited for her hard-to-get response, something audible seemed to come from her room inside.

"Miss Cherry, I..."

Miss Cherry only quickly hushed her, "There's a familiar sound...It's...'Welcome to Windows'!" The next second, Miss Cherry only rushed urgently back into her own office.

The next chapter will be tentatively updated on next Wednesday...


	15. Here to There

Callie: Thank you for your encouraging comments which never fail to motivate me. Hope everything's going well at school for you and don't get too stressed out. I don't have time to check for spelling mistakes in this chapter, so please bear with me if you spot any. Again, thank you heaps for being a faithful reader.

Upon reaching the doorway to Tian Mo Xing's dorm, 007 was quick enough to spot something hanging on the knob. Noticing more closely, he figured out to be a certain computer lab usage card, He took it and the student name on it was indeed 'Li Xiao Xing'.

Skimming with incredible speed through the piece of card, there was one thing which really caught his attention. Among the long list of times recorded, there was also surprisingly a sign-in time for today. 007 swiftly looked at his watch. He hated to think of what would happen should Tian Mo Xing got logged in for over the limit of 3 hours. It could mean a failed course for the whole school term.

At this moment, Tian Mo Xing seemed to have awaken. She moved a little and rubbed her tired eyes. "Oh, 007...when did we end up here??" she wondered wearily.

He turned to her, "Can you remember having signed in to lab earlier today?"

Tian Mo Xing let out a yawn, "Signed in? Well, wait...oh no! Sorry to have troubled you to carry me! Why don't you let me get down first?"

007 did so and Tian Mo Xing's mind still felt terribly blurred of what was happening around her. No longer in the serene music room, she was somewhat lost and light-headed.

The watch beeped for a second. 007 then gathered that there was very little time left as the seconds kept ticking by ongoingly. He pressed Tian Mo Xing's hand, "I need to settle your lab card matter, otherwise it would be really unfortunate. Just wait for me, Tian Mo Xing..."

Tian Mo Xing only gazed at him doubtfully as he planted a kiss on her forehead before dashing off. She only nodded in response and witnessing him disappearing down the hallway and stairs.

007 raced down the building at breakneck speed all the way to the block where the computer labs were located. He had made full use of the time but altogether ten minutes were still wasted. Bad luck has it that the elevator was full so he has to aim straight for the stairs. Good thing it was only on the second level.

Arriving at the lab room where Tian Mo Xing had been earlier, 007 turned the doorknob only to find it was locked. A notice was pasted on the door by Miss Yeh stating something along the line of an undesirable circumstance which happened at about 11 o'clock that day.

007 tried to get in touch with the others through his headset.

"What's the matter?" 747 responded promptly.

"Do you have the key to Lab 155? You guys have been here not too long ago, right?" 007 requested.

"Huh? Key? 155?" 747 was caught unprepared.

"Yes...Do you?!" 007 wanted to know fast.

"Oh..." 747 paused to inquire from 187 briefly. 007 checked the time once again.

"Okay,...Hey 007," 747 spoke again.

"How's it?" 007 urged.

"Oh, sorry,...I've only got Teacher Cherry's permission tag. Can't you just simply get inside?" 747 apologised.

"Alright, talk to you later!" 007 concluded. He then quickly rushed to the school's administration office.

"So you need to sign out of your lab?" the clerk asked 007 to make sure when he has explained the situation to her.

'Yes, it's been over two-and-a-half-hour since the signed-in time," he confirmed.

"Oh sorry, we don't have the right to help you with regard to this task here. You can only go to the Head of Computer Studies, Miss Yeh for the last resort," she encouraged the only way out.

There was less than 15 minutes left. 007 has no other option but to ask for Miss Yeh's whereabouts at such point in time.

He ran past another two blocks of building to reach the academic staff office. With some quick asking around, he managed to meet up with the grave-looking Miss Yeh.

"So,..." she considered. "You're here on behalf of that Li Xiao Xing girl?"

"Yes, Miss Yeh. Please give some thought over the time stated on the card," 007 reminded.

She adjusted a little of her thick-framed glasses, "Fine...since I have locked up the lab room already, there is no reason for me to flunk her in addition to her more-than-serious offence." She then marked her card.

"Miss Yeh, I hope you would give Tian Mo Xing a chance," 007 pressed. He held up the card before her again, "Li Xiao Xing being not here at this crucial moment, will not be as dense an offender as to cause herself not passing a principal course in this term, especially when we're already nearing the end of it. The reason why she had been unable to log out is simply that this card, along with her other belongings, had not been in her possession. She was first signed in at ten minutes past eleven. Do you, Miss Yeh, recall if she was with you at that time?"

She did some quick mental calculation and recapping the incidence with Tian Mo Xing that day, she felt caught offguard. Miss Yeh took the card away from his grip, "I agree to put her case on hold. We will go on investigating."

007 breathed relief, 'Thank you..."

"Oh!" 747 appeared at the doorway and spotted 007. 187 was also trailing behind.

"Next time," Miss Yeh had a stricter tone this time. "Tell her to come by herself."

007 nodded, "Yes, teacher." She turned about and return to her room.

747 came forward and gave 007 a heavy pat on the shoulder, "How's everything?"

He looked at him with implication, and was about to reply when his cellphone abruptly received an incoming alert. He took it out and checked. "Phoenix again," 007 uttered with a sigh.

"What's that?" 747 was very blank.

007 closed his phone, "Nothing, only phone bill's business..." He shrugged and prepared to leave the building. The other two guys also followed suit.

In her dorm, Tian Mo Xing managed to spot the set of EQ test left behind by 007 on her table. She picked it up and studied lightly through each page. The questions were quite tricky in a sense, but she was determined to tackle with them straight on.


	16. More Thoughts

"So what else has been taken away with your binder other than your lab card?" 007 asked Tian Mo Xing when all of them have gathered together in Teacher Cherry's office.

"Well,..." Tian Mo Xing thought hard. He stooped down to her eye level as she rested more against the hard chair she sat on. "A lab workbook, my student ID, and...errr..."

"Anything else?" 007 looked at her expectantly as he stooped down to her eye level.

"Hmmm," Teacher Cherry interrupted from across the table. "So the time when this computer got last locked up was 10:45 am," she checked thoroughly what was displayed on the 17 inch. monitor.

The school bell then rang loud and clear.

007 glanced at his watch, then something flashed across his mind. "I'm predicting that Tian Mo Xing's card was snatched away by a fellow Sheng Ying student since he or she was able to sign in to the labs..."

747 uttered abruptly from a corner, "The bell really gives me the shivers down my spine..."

"Why is that?" 187 questioned.

He turned to him, "Don't you remember what we've just gone through earlier? Racing down two hallways and flights of stairs, and then, across another 2 blocks. I have to do that in less than 15 minutes against the bell. Man, I just had a diarrhoea this morning...No one is pitying me..."

187 patted his shoulder and put on an exaggerated compassionate look while handing him playfully a piece of tissue, "A hero needs to shed tears once in a while. Next time, use the lift like me."

747 merely shifted away his hand, "And you're even 6 minutes late..."

"11:10 am," 007 thought again. He then delved further into it and said, "It just happens that the labs are located not too faraway from here. The difference between 10:45 and 11:10 is just 25 minutes. Teacher Cherry, can you possibly guess the age of the fake technician who was here?"

She tried to recall, "I..." Not long, she shook her head in surrender, "He was wearing thick glasses and dressed in long sleeves and pants. Even his hair was covered with barely his fringes showing..."

"Are you sure there is no other way to judge?" he reminded.

"Ahh...yes," she snapped her finger. "He has such a really boyish, gentlemanly voice!"

187 and 747 sweatdropped.

007 tried to summarise, "Since 187 and 747 said they did not witness any intruder leaving the school gate, we'll just place the bet on the likelihood that the technician and culprit causing Tian Mo Xing wrongly accused to be the same student."

"You have that much confidence?" 747 could not fully buy his words.

007 went on, "Each class period lasted for either a half or full hour. After the sound of the bell, the attendance of each student will be taken for 5 to 10 minutes the longest. Taking Tian Mo Xing's sign-in time into account, that student in question must have missed this early part of the class. We could check the attendance records."

Tian Mo Xing spoke up, "I remember...the binder which I took out of mistake is similar to my own. It has Sheng Ying's logo and was given free exclusively to students who wanted them during the opening term carnival."

"Really?" 747 was amused. "Tian Mo Xing, you should have told me earlier!"

"Why not ask me?" 187 said flatly. "I was given tonnes of them."

"Yup," Teacher Cherry agreed. "Now that I think of it, that guy's overall is familiar, as if I have seen it somewhere within this school..."

"Oh, that kind of supports," 747 nodded.

"Oh dear!" Teacher Cherry lamented. "My deadline reminder program has been cleared of saved data!"

They all went over to the computer. 747 noticed, "Eh, Miss Cherry...you are using this one too. I just downloaded it the other day."

007 looked closely, "The database program should be working fine now, with this computer disconnected from the clubroom's."

Teacher Cherry scratched her head, "It only seems so...when I open this one...the entries have been resorted in another order...just scrolling down the list takes forever...I totally can't make out if any data has been lost." She sighed in frustration. It was a tough task.

007 moved the mouse slightly, "This appears to start from 4 years back. And each of the other files have been renamed..."

Teacher Cherry emphasised, "It's all the rest of them." She closed her eyes miserably to avoid seeing the screen further.

"Okay, okay, Miss Cherry," 187 encouraged. "Let us steer away from the present topic meanwhile. Like why not..." He glanced around the room briefly, then his eyes brighten up, "Yeah now, this one." He held up the confiscated surveillance video tape and pretended to study it seriously.

"What have you to say?" 747 eyed him with impatience.

187 flipped the tape over a few times, and soon concluded, "It's somewhat different from the other tapes we came across many times before. Impeccably clean, and new too..."

Everyone went over to see for themselves what 187 was describing about. "Really, there is not a single scratch on it," 747 observed. "And the film was very nicely removed."

Tian Mo Xing figured, "No wonder Miss Yeh would say such..."

"It's a T-100," 007 told upon scanning the tape.

A thought struck Teacher Cherry, "From what I know, we have been ordering a new batch of ACC-200 tapes since few months ago. If my presumption is right, the security section must have already fully replaced the old ones we used to have with them."

007 further added, "ACC-200 and T-100 are different. It's possible for the former to record more than 48 hours of time lapse video or 40 hours of extended real-time recording. So perhaps, the security might even leave the tape as it is for more than a day before putting in a new one."

Teacher Cherry felt the gloom hovering above her being removed instantly, "Sounds plausible? When did we last see Yuan Lan Ying?"

747 responded, "That girl?" Turning thoughtful, he sighed, "Though today seems like a terribly long day, but I need to say, it's only yesterday...probably even less than 24 hours ago??"

187 continued, "So the tapes don't match...and could have been exchanged when the real one was not properly guarded. We fared pretty well today!"

Teacher Cherry exclaimed with relief, "That's great! Tian Mo Xing doesn't have to be mistaken for an offender! Hurray!" She right away gave her sweet sister a big loving hug. Tian Mo Xing finally displayed a somewhat warm smile.

007 looked over the tape again, "This one's also in PAL format."

187 hit his chest lightly, "I know a precious one who works for a store specialising in conversion of PAL to NTSC. Leave the task to me!"

"Alright now," Teacher Cherry released Tian Mo Xing and walked over to adjust the blinds. "We have worked too much...Time for some bright heart-soothing sunshine."

747 remarked, "Wow, Teacher Cherry, you haven't even opened the window and the breeze coming from you has already done its job."

007 bent down to pick up a sheet of paper fallen off the table. He looked at it, "From Lab 155..."

"Oh," 747 recapped. "That's a screenshot of what we got after checking out one of the computers in the lab. I thought that must be another weird clue too."

007 studied it more and sensed that should the symbol be a Roman numeral, then it has to be one-of-a-kind indeed.

Tian Mo Xing hastily uttered, "Ummm...I have brought along the progress reports...Let me take them out."

007 has now the intention of checking the foreign connection that was opened up by the questionable CD with a centre elsewhere.

"Wait," Tian Mo Xing gasped. "What time is it now?" she then searched through her folders frantically.

"Nearly three," 007 replied with concern.

"Oh...gosh...where have I placed my EQ sheets...oh, where are they?" she fumbled through each of her stuff helplessly.

"Tian Mo Xing,..." 007 looked on as self-disappointment started to show through her anxious face.


	17. Drifting By

007 grabbed Tian Mo Xing's hand and together, took her on a journey through the woods...

"007, where are you taking me?" she asked blankly.

They then arrived at somewhat of a backyard and he opened the little low gate.

She entered the garden with him. Tian Mo Xing gasped in awe, "Wow! So many clusters of rainbow-coloured rose bushes...Feels like in Wonderland!" It soon dawned on her that this must be 'Celine Rose Garden'.

007 was deeply glad to see that she loved this place.

"Oh," Tian Mo Xing wondered in admiration. "More colours - vermilion, lavender, carmine, magenta, amber, crimson...countless shades here!" She went ahead to smell those beautiful flowers.

He then showed her the way to a glistening stream flowing down the middle of the grassy ground. Proceeding nearer, Tian Mo Xing caught sight of extremely shiny-looking pebbles in it.

007 stooped down and told her, "Don't worry, they won't wet your hands..." He picked up a few of those stones one by one and showed her. Tian Mo Xing was quite hesitant at first but 007 flashed her an assuring smile and she bravely took from him.

He noticed curiosity written all over her princess-like sweet face and then explained, "These are actually miniature granite pebbles. Based on studies, they have inner bonding structures comparable to the hardest diamonds but their strength is surprisingly a thousand times weaker."

She nodded in understanding, "I see...so..."

He continued, "Just like diamonds can only be cut by other diamonds, I can shape this pebble using another into any image I like..."

"Really?!" she squealed with glee.

He held up the stone before her, "This one is smooth enough...Let's try it, what do you want me to carve?"

She thought for a bit and a smile spread across her face.

"Alright," 007 decided and started working on it. Tian Mo Xing looked on in amazement as she marvelled more than ever on his talented ability.

He gathered that she was paying intense full attention on him and went on to add, "These pebbles can only be found in a lake called Priscentia but no one yet knows its exact location in the world."

"Oh,...007...you sensed our telepathy when I did not answer your question, right?" Tian Mo Xing continued to be mesmerised by his serious look.

He smiled at her again, "It matters alot for me to see happiness from Tian Mo Xing." He scrubbed off some dust from the newly-modified pebble.

"Ahhh!! A cute pair of twin heart-shaped strawberries! I have never seen anything like this!" Tian Mo Xing cried in surprise.

"If I shall apply some pink colour onto it, the carving would look even more realistic. Tell me if you would like it done. As for now, it's for you to keep," 007 handed over to her, which Tian Mo Xing was delighted to accept.

"Aww...thank you, 007," she expressed.

They then got back up on their feet. Not too long, Tian Mo Xing saw a spectacular gazebo and under it, was a more captivating plant of cherry blossom sort.

"Wanna take a look?" 007 suggested. She nodded eagerly and he happily led the way.

When they have reached it, she was at a lost for words. 007 explained again, "This crossbreed of a species of rose and cherry blossom has been named as Starlight Serenade. The reason is that at a certain time on a particular day, the birds which flew by and rested on its branches started singing a tune sounding similar to the melody of the song. Aunt Jenna heard it and so gave it this special name...But now, we're nearing the end of Spring..."

"Starlight Serenade..." Tian Mo Xing uttered thoughtfully.

007 understood she has never heard the song before, and so held her hands more closely to himself. The next instant, he started humming the tune for her. As he looked softly into her eyes, the little distance between them gave her the opportunity to behold his facial features more closely. She has to admit that 007 was indeed charming. So this person is her Prince? Tian Mo Xing found it almost unbelievable. She felt the electrifying link connecting both of them so real. Then, the petals started falling all over them...It was most soothing to hear his voice in the midst of such breathtaking sight.

"How do you like it?" he asked.

"Beautiful..." she praised.

He pointed out, "Based on optimum temperature control and supply of sunlight casted at a certain angle by the reflective windows, the petals of this plant will never cease to fall at a certain timing every single day."

"We're lucky..." she remarked.

007 carried on to say, "Legend has it that if a pair of lovers can have a chance to catch a glimpse of a complete circle of a rainbow, then they will receive an eternity of blessing."

"Oh," Tian Mo Xing considered his words. She looked down and following, something eye-catching on the ground distracted her. "007, you're stepping on..."

He bent down and moved aside. There was a sparkling piece of crystal underneath the petals as he inspected closely. "It's actually the Heng Xing, or rather, Eternal Star," 007 recognised its distinct starry shape. He picked it up and held it higher.

"Ohmigosh, 007! Do you see that? A rainbow circle!" Tian Mo Xing cried out of overwhelming joy.

"Yes, we saw it," 007 has never seen her so cheery. He let her hold the crystal with him, "Tian Mo Xing, you know, this is from the story of Penetrating Bliss."

"Yup," she nodded. "Mother Gracious saw how Lady Celestine was saddened by the fact that she has not seen a shooting star in ten years..."

007 continued, "So she drew before her - with the universe as her canvas - the reflection of the brightest Eternal Star, using each shard of wishes uttered through the window of her heart."

"Do you think Lady Celestine's cry is worth listening to?" Tian Mo Xing wanted to know.

007 nodded with a smile that could melt her heart.

"007," she said. "Lady Celestine...do you want to know? She is....."

"She is..." Tian Mo Xing merely struggled to repeat.

BEEP!! BEEP!! The sound of the alarm clock served to wake her back into reality...

Tian Mo Xing covered her ears and mumbled, "I still want to remain in Celine Rose Gard....." She succumbed to a lazy yawn. She wanted to fall back asleep, to wander back into her dream, but her conscientious mind warned her otherwise. She willed herself to sit up and rubbed her eyes clear.

"Oh," Tian Mo Xing moaned as her vision got better to reveal the time on the easter egg-shaped clock. Tian Mo Xing stood bolt upright instantly and scampered off to the bathroom.


	18. Probing Further

In the MIT clubroom, 007 and 747 were searching the online directory of business addresses within the vicinity of the neighbourhood.

"Oh my, there are so many stores at the same location as the suspected Mastermind centre. Look at these, matching results keep popping up non-stop!" 747 remarked incredulously with wide eyes affixed on the monitor.

007 kept on copying and pasting each one of them at record-breaking speed, "It only serves to indicate something must be going on behind this...Within a span of a year, more than 40 stores have moved and took over that particular store lot."

"Then, do they actually rent it or after owning, just sold over to another party?" 747 inquired in a sober tone.

"That,...would require further investigation..." 007 offered tentatively.

"Hmmm," 747 pondered.

007 waited for the computer to finish its task, then turned to his team-mate abruptly.

747 caught his gaze from the side and faced him questioningly, "What's the matter?? Anything on my face?"

007 shook his head lightly, and added, sounding more serious, "You mentioned that you overheard the someone's phone conversation while in a washroom, talking about going to Miss Cherry's...but you were unable to go after that person..."

747 nodded a-matter-of-factly, "But not the whole conversation, just someone speaking to his phone urgently."

007 was enlightened, "So it's a he??"

"Yup, so Yuan Lan Ying is out of the picture...It was at..." 747 tried to recap yesterday's happenings.

"Where?" 007 wanted to know eagerly.

"Ahh," 747 snapped his fingers. "The washroom belongs to a convenience store close by the school!"

"That will be another suspected location," 007 decided.

"But, it's quite an old shop so most probably they won't go to the extend of installing a surveillance camera," 747 figured.

"Even so, it's not possible to get their videos, we could only go there and find out for ourselves," 007 said.

"Hello everyone!" 187's voice came through their headsets.

"Yes, 187!!" both of them responded.

"I have gone to this shop which does PAL and NTSC conversions. The owner said that due to an overseas tour of a popular rockband recently, they only received the orders of foreign concert tapes' conversion to NTSCs. They have not touched any of their old stock of PAL tapes. I'm heading back to the school now, over..." 187 concluded.

747 sighed, "Well, it was 187's idea in the first place, not mine..."

007 went back to scrolling down the long list, "Perhaps, there is no such need to seek that shop after all. Getting those kinds of tapes may not necessarily require any conversion business to start with."

"So, what next??"

007 continued, "One of our first clues was the Doraemon show we got fresh out of Class 1A, then an empty T-100 popped out of nowhere. If we just assume that the purpose of latter is to buy time and shift the blame onto another person..."

747 chipped in, "Teacher Cherry, for sure is a target...but what about Tian Mo Xing?"

Down the hallway outside, Tian Mo Xing was approaching MIT room, making hesitant advancing steps and battling mentally of whether she should ask 007 to help her find the lost EQ test sheets. In a time like this when everyone is busy working, she knew she should not trouble him and so her conscience won over her selfishness. She has reached the doorway...

"If she happens to be picked out of random instead of intentionally..." Tian Mo Xing heard and saw 747 deep in thought through the door left ajar. She willed herself to fight back all doubts about such a trivial matter and turned about to quickly leave. She hasten her pace but still carelessly dropped something out of her grip in the process.

"Then, maybe we should focus more on the culprit's motives behind meddling with Miss Cherry's computer...hey, what have you found out about the CD's network connections?" 747 carried on asking but 007 thought he heard something.

Wondering if that could be Tian Mo Xing, he got up right away and rushed out of the room expectantly.

At the door, he saw it was indeed her, bending down to pick up her fallen container. He walked towards her, and slowly but surely began to notice what it actually was.

Tian Mo Xing checked her stuff again and pressed on it to close the lid more tightly. It was not until 007 got down before her that she was aware of his presence. She looked up at him, surprised and somewhat uneasy.

"Oh," she gasped a little...He held up the container together with her, studying it, "Hard-boiled eggs?"

Tian Mo Xing hurriedly explained, "No, it's because I called Ah Mu earlier to wish her Mother's Day. We talked for quite a while and then, there's the topic of her hard-boiled eggs. She gave me more advices and suggestions of improvements to her recipes so I just....."

007 simply moved closer and drew her into a hug the next second.

"007," Tian Mo Xing uttered. "You don't have to think that I made them especially for you, it really took no longer than..."

"Thank you...," he broke off her sentence.


	19. Recovered

"What? Are you sure, Tai An Ge? You've got my completed EQ test?!" Tian Mo Xing cried in utter disbelief.

Tai An Ge only nodded confidently and then patted the bundle of papers on the counter's desk, implying his affirmation to the startled girl.

007 quickly butted in, "Then do you know who handed them in?"

He only shrugged, "You both are expecting me to give you an answer for that? I'm not even a Pi Li MIT committee member!"

Tian Mo Xing thought and next moment, attempted to grab and search for her response sheet.

"Ouch!" Tai An Ge has a sharp eye and hit her hand lightly before Tian Mo Xing could succeed but he was used to exert much strength even though it was considerably a small matter for a man of his size.

"Little Xiao Xiao Xing, did you ever ask me before setting your hand on what're NOW MY stuff??" he sounded quite fade-up.

"Oh,...sorry..." Tian Mo Xing apologised with shame.

He sighed and pointed out towards the far-off entrance of the cafeteria, "All I say is that, your thing was shoved in through underneath the entrance door by the time I arrived very VERY early this morning. So I got them!"

Tian Mo Xing and 007 looked with concern at each other.

"Okay now," Tai An Ge waved in the way of their gaze for their attention. "Unfortunately, since I got Xiao Xiao Xing's submission late, I need some time to go through everyone's before designing another challenge. So there will be none for today until I can get the whole job done, understood??"

Apparently, it was no longer a big deal for the two of them, or Pi Li MIT, for that matter. Whoever has gotten Tian Mo Xing's belongings was much more significant.

Tian Mo Xing's cellphone sounded.

"Hello, is that Li Xiao Xing?" the caller sought.

"Yes, speaking!" she replied without delay.

"Hi, I'm calling from the Lost & Found department of Sheng Ying's school. We've got a few of your stuff with us. Would you mind coming by and collect them?"

"Oh,..." Tian Mo Xing was somewhat taken aback. "Sure, I'll be there!!"


	20. Incomplete

Tian Mo Xing checked through her retrieved belongings. There were her lab workbook, stationery case, binder and a few others. "Oh gosh..."she sighed and frowned. "I don't see my student ID here anywhere..."

007 turned to the department clerk and urged, "Are you sure there's nothing else?"

She nodded plainly, "Those are all we've gathered."

Tian Mo Xing quickly added, "Then do you know who brought them in?"

"Sorry, if you've not known this before, we have designated a convenient section by this building where finders could easily drop items if they happen to be in a rush and do not have enough time to leave their details with us. And this is actually your case," the clerk kindly explained.

"Then,..." 007 pondered. "Can you tell us when was the earliest time you had managed to collect Li Xiao Xing's stuff?"

The lady spent some moment recalling before finally answering, "They were discovered by our first batch of volunteer assistants this early morning..."

007 checked his wristwatch. By his side, Tian Mo Xing continued going over whatever has been placed neatly in her binder. 007 thought of asking for more hints but without warning, Tian Mo Xing cried aloud.

"What's the matter?" he questioned worriedly.

Tian Mo Xing moaned disappointingly,"I had forgotten about this Mother's Day card for Ah Mu..." She held it up from one of the pockets of her binder.

007 was relieved about the trivial matter but Tian Mo Xing kept on searching about for a calendar and then glancing at her watch, wondering if the delay was too much or not.

"It's alright, Tian Mo Xing," 007 looked at her warmly and patted her shoulder. "If we could send it by expresspost today, your Ah Mu can still receive it before midnight."

"Really?" she turned to him pitifully, still doubtful.

"Trust me," he assured and nodded. Next minute, he grabbed her hand, "Let's go before we lose more time..."

Tian Mo Xing unknowingly agreed and smiled gratefully. 007 sure has a way of solving her problem. They went on their way.

"Ahhh!!!" a tall pile of books fell onto the floor and landed in a heap as they both knocked into the person behind them.

"Goodness..." Tian Mo Xing gasped.

"Sorry, we didn't mean it," 007 hurriedly picked up those books for the unfortunate victim of the incident.

"Oh dear, it's okay...I was not aware you both were coming my way at all," she returned well-manneredly.

Tian Mo Xing looked closely at her, "Hey, aren't you Mandy?"

She gazed up and did recognise the cute girl before her, "Yes! Li Xiao Xing, I was trying to find you all over the school! You have not completed the order form with us yet, so your request is still now on hold..."

Realisation dawned on the absent-minded Tian Mo Xing, "No wonder I kept thinking there was something left unattended since yesterday!"


	21. Need for Clarity

Tian Mo Xing spent some time at a bookstore near her dorm to complete a particular order form she had forgotten the previous day.

"Hey, Li Xiao Xing, you're really the first one willing to come by and pre-order this mysterious book...I've never seen someone that interested as you are in this unidentified author's work," the counter assistant, Mandy remarked dryly.

Tian Mo Xing finally signed her name at the lower corner of the sheet and handed to her with a wide smile, "Why don't you try imagining the possibilities behind the title - 'A Multi-Faceted Garden', before going into complaints of dissatisfactions about its writers?"

She quickly caught her words and snapped her fingers, "Oh, you must have known alot more than I do - 'writers'?? So there is more than one person involved in this? Tell me..."

Tian Mo Xing realised how chatty she had acted and regretfully urged, "No, no...it's just a slip of my tongue...don't take it too seriously..."

Mandy turned more insistent by the minute while shoving the order slip back to her hands, "Come on, Li Xiao Xing...I mean, if you're really a fan, then do help us a little by increasing the sales of this book...and one of the ways is more details of information! What do you have to lose?" She leaned closer from behind the table and said softer, "Perhaps, a discount we might be able to offer you?"

Tian Mo Xing felt as though she would give in to the bribe any moment soon but she willed herself to being tight-lipped as much as she could. Looking down to avoid the pressurising gaze, she shook her head, "Ma-n-dy, sorry, I...really don't..."

From a corner, a voice interrupted, "Li Xiao Xing, are you ready?"

She gasped in much-needed relief and turned to face her frequent life-saver, "007!! Sure!! I'm only waiting for Mandy to accept my form!" Her frown changed to a smile full of brilliance next second.

007 headed over to their side and Mandy had no choice but to take back the slip with noticeable disappointment.

"Okay, the total cost will be $19.99," she added a little impatiently.

"Oh, alright," Tian Mo Xing would not dare to think that she could get a discounted price after all.

Checking through her wallet, another problem brewed this time. She stammered, "Mandy, is there anyway I can pay you, if you don't mind, let's just say....."

"Huh?" she eyed her suspectingly. "We're gonna close early for lunch soon..."

"It's okay, I'll settle it for her," 007 butted in and took out some cash before a misunderstanding could result.

"007...," Tian Mo Xing felt this was too much help to ask for.

"Don't worry," he assured her.

Tian Mo Xing wondered what would be the best way to thank him, when in between the pause, Mandy cleared her throat. "Got some skills, Li Xiao Xing," she added sarcastically.

"What?!" Tian Mo Xing doubted to take that as a gesture of compliment and appeared quite offended.

Mandy only continued looking through the form non-chalantly and kept punching the buttons, "Want to know what I mean?? Will tell you next time!" She purposefully spoke barely above the range of a whisper that only Tian Mo Xing could hear. Then, she tore a certain part off the form and gave it to her without giving even a look. With a short reminder that she would call her when the book has arrived, she left the counter and got on unpacking some boxes at a far corner.

Tian Mo Xing seemed rather pissed off, "Such a weird girl..." 007 only smiled looking at her, "Let's go!"

When they were out of the shop, Tian Mo Xing suddenly stopped in her track and exclaimed, "Right!"

"What's that?" 007 asked.

She turned to him confidently, "I remember now...It was yesterday's afternoon that I dropped by this bookstore...I even bought my greeting card from here!"

"So, was it before or after you lost your EQ sheets?" 007 suggested.

"Err...I...," Tian Mo Xing thought hard again. "The card...no...postage! Yes, no postage stamps on them! I was trying with all my might to rush to the post office before it closed...Then, I lost everything!!"

"So before you actually lost both the card and EQ sheet? Is that what you mean?" 007 placed his hands on Tian Mo Xing's shoulders and tried to make things clearer. However, this caused her the instinct to recall even further of what had happened.

Before long, the more 007 wanted to focus on the blurred Tian Mo Xing in front of him, the greater his vision turned fuzzy. "Wait, when I had found Ah Mu's card, the stamps have already been affixed....." 007 was not able to pay attention in listening the rest, for his head has started to spin like crazy and he ought to struggle to maintain his footing.

"Oh, 007...007...are you okay?" echoes of Tian Mo Xing's cries repeated themselves again and again by his ears as he forced himself not to faint.


	22. Stay Strong

It hurt Tian Mo Xing immensely to see 007 grimacing in silent pain while the school nurse applied medication to his wounds. Standing by the side, she could not withstand from blaming herself any longer. "007, I'm so sorry for causing you troubles without end. It's all my fault...," she spoke with deep regret.

Gathering his strength of endurance, 007 looked up at her and managed a simple smile that utterly touched her heart, "Don't worry, I'm okay." He reached out with his free hand and held her trembling one, assuring her that there was no need to get overly upset. His soft gaze met her eyes filled with intense guilt, but with she has always held onto as their 'telepathic link' between each other, it felt as though his powerful yet gentle consolation was seeping readily from his being to hers. Tian Mo Xing was able to calm her own rising tears and her presence now started to work wonders in suppressing his sharp physical pain.

"Okay, now Tian Mo Xing, you shouldn't burden yourself...The fault should go to me, I was the one to kick the door open without even thinking that you both were behind it," Teacher Cherry rushed forward and patted her sister.

Tian Mo Xing turned to her, "Teacher Cherry, if it's not for me falling into depression, 007 wouldn't have thought of bringing me to the music room..."

The moment Teacher Cherry saw the disappointed expression on Tian Mo Xing's discouraged face, even she has to wonder how to convince that there was no point in pushing the cause of the wrongdoing to whosoever among the three of them.

007 drew her hand closer, "Tian Mo Xing, since you too realise that depression has headed your way, there is an even stronger reason for you to stay cheerful and resist all you can against any of its symptoms."

"007....," Tian Mo Xing was now more aware of her discovery now that she had said it out loud.

He nodded, "I believe you don't have to live in the pitiful realm of forgetfulness for too long..."

The statement lifted Tian Mo Xing's spirit.

"Aha," Teacher Cherry chipped in. "Tian Mo Xing, trust that you'll achieve it!"

"Alright, everything's done!" The nurse exclaimed while keeping away her first-aid tools. "Here is your bottle of medication which you will need to apply once everyday. Continue doing it for at least a week or so and your wounds will heal much faster," she further instructed.

"Thank you, nurse," he expressed and Tian Mo Xing helped to put on his blazer for him.

Not long, Teacher Cherry's phone started ringing, "Hello..."

"Miss Cherry, the attendance records you required are all ready on your table," her secretary told on the line.

"Alright, thanks," she hung up. "Ah!!" her next abrupt cry startled everyone.

"What's wrong, Miss Cherry," Tian Mo Xing hurriedly asked.

"I need to race to the florist straight away to get a carnation bouquet for mother - Bye!" she then stormed out of the room leaving the door ajar.

"Goodness, Miss Cherry sure has alot of things going on inside her little brain," the nurse playfully remarked.

007 and Tian Mo Xing smiled at her light-hearted sentence.

"And you two," the middle-aged lady went over towards them both and urged 007 to sit back on the white bed again. "I strongly advise you to rest for some ten minutes or more before moving about again. Being too active will place you on greater stress and delay your recovery." She then pointed towards Tian Mo Xing, "Look after him and persuade him not to get up. I'm sure he will listen to you more, young lady..."

"Oh," Tian Mo Xing complied and turned to 007 questioningly.

"Now, I need to make a trip to the nearby clinic, so make sure he behaves well in here until the time's up, okay?"

They both nodded obediently. Seeing that the time was ticking away endlessly, the nurse headed out of the room and left them by themselves.

A quiet atmosphere hovered all over the place as they waited for another ten minutes to go by. Soon, 007 decided to break the silence. Not until now, did he realised that his hand was on Tian Mo Xing's. How did that came to be? He wondered, "Tian Mo Xing..."

She turned about, "Huh?....Aahhh!!"

Losing her balance, she fell onto him out of sudden shock, "Oh no! 007!" Tian Mo Xing attempted to get on her feet quickly but 007 didn't let go.

"So sorry...Did I touch your wound??" she became flustered.

He only held her close and hushed, "It's only a butterfly..."

"That one..." Tian Mo Xing now saw clearly what had frightened her seconds ago. To her amazement, the harmless creature started flying around them in a complete circle.

"It's rare to see butterflies around this area," 007 softly whispered.

Tian Mo Xing smiled, "And pink too...so lovely..."

007 went on, "Someone ever told me, when a lone butterfly comes by, and a person precious to you is by your side,..."

"Really?" Tian Mo Xing pondered. "Then, what will happen?"

"It means that, heaven's window of blessing has opened for both of us, and God is telling either one of us to cherish the other even more," 007 frankly explained.

"Either one?? So if it's not you, then it will be me?" Tian Mo Xing lifted her gaze up at 007.

"Whether it's gonna be a mystery, I won't simply shrug it off," he added, and then slipped one of his hands into a pants' pocket.

"Huh?" Tian Mo Xing doubted if he was going to take something out.

"There," 007 did afterall and showed her a little wrapped box.

Tian Mo Xing remained noticeably uncertain. Next, 007 opened it up to reveal a shiny locket.

"Wow..." she uttered unawarely.

"There's also something else inside," he smilingly disclosed. After he lifted the cover, there could be heard a lovely tune coming from the locket.

"This is...the song you played," Tian Mo Xing was so moved by the music.

"And it's meant for you, Li Xiao Xing," he warmly declared and placed the sparkling locket in her hands as tears almost filled her yearning eyes. "You're my bright morning star," he kissed her forehead.


	23. Chapter 23: Thinking Gap

"Oopps, it's turned loose," 747 moaned and got off from his seat to plug in tighter the network cable behind the computer. He thought it was somehow quite rare that the only person left in this MITclubroom would be himself instead of the usual hardworking & brainy 007. Well, he was quite proud of himself at such a situation but his imagination of 007 and Tian Mo Xing hanging out sweetly together was tough enough to bear.

The moment he got back on his seat before the computer, something flashing on the screen caught his vision. ''Huh? " he was indeed suprised and started to read the pop-up dialog. ''Want more help in your quest? Why not start playing hangman with me?'' Curiosity got much of 747's hesitation and this caused him to respond by clicking on the "Okay" button.

"O-kay, a seven letter word," 747 struck his chin to guess hard.

"Alright, why not try my surname - H-uang, so 'H'!'' he quickly pressed the key.

''Wow, bingo! '' he exclaimed with glee. ''Seems that my name can bring me luck! First time in history!" However, next second, realising all first letters of both his first and middle names were the same 'H', his hopes fell to rock-bottom.

"Cheer up, cheer up, Huang Hui Hong, try others instead," he consoled himself and the next thing that hit his head was the first suspect of their current case.

"Now, Yuan Lan Ying! Go for 'Y'!" he snapped his fingers loud to wish for the best.

"Nice shot, yeah!" It was indeed the last letter of the mystery word. He then tried the middle 'L'.

Contrary to his expectations, it was rejected and he has to start all over again.

'' What?! How am I suppose to know if this word is new or the same one from before? ''747 scratched his head without help. ''What kind of a hangman game is this? So weird, '' he lamented.

He decided to retry with new letters and failed miserably. Leaning back against the comfortable arm chair like what Miss cherry has described, he tried to suppress the emerging impatience inside him and rested his brain for some few seconds first.

Unawarely, he could hear someone sniffing softly, apparently from a corner. 747 sat up straight right away to make sure he was not imagining things. Has the day before been overly hectic to him that sounds coming to his ear didn't seem right? At such a moment, he hated to admit that he could be quite a coward at times. He figured that he should escape from this stuffy clubroom and even much more from the mind-teasing computer to regain a bit of his sanity.

He quicken his footsteps towards the door and now, his eyes could possibly be playing tricks as well. The shadow of a figure lurking behind? He hurriedly opened it and raised his voice, ''Who's there?!"

To his surprise, a girl in tears was standing right before him at the doorway.

''Oh, ''747 was indeed taken aback. "So sorry, I didn't mean to .....,'' he fumbled to apologise. She continued to sob and turned away from is gaze, considering to leave.

''Wait, ''747 reached out to stop her. She paused upon noticing that he was holding onto her wrist.

''Oh, sorry.... again, ''747 smiled sheepishly. He then quickly asked with concern, '' Is there anything I can help you with?"

The impact of his question on her was in a way that she carried on crying more audibly. 747 swiftly let go of his hand, seeing she was such a vulnerable girl.

He didn't want to make the situation worse, "Don't cry, if you don't mind, you can try speaking out loud your hurts..."

The girl now grabbed his arm, managing to voice her problem, ''Please, is there any way you can help me find Qian Fu Hao? He has been avoiding me since yesterday, telling me not to send him anymore SMS...''

747 strmmered,'' Oh okay, sure I'll help you... ''

''Really?! Thank you! It's nice to know you, I'm Genie Zhuo from Class 5C,'' she quickly wiped her own tears dry.

''Let's see, hmmM...," Miss Cherry flipped through the bundle of papers placed on her desk carefully, but also a bit hastily.

She has to do the task fast in order to keep the promise of meeting her mother at the seniors' center on time. She sighed at seeing the numerous tables of time-slots and student names making herself all the more giddy.

''Alright,'' she called for a stop. "Come on Cherry Tao, my main target is yesterday's morning to afternoon sessions!''

Looking sharply for the printed dates. it took her a whole 5 minutes before she could come across it. Flashing a contented smile, she pulled them out. However, something appeared not to be right. She bit her lip upon realising there were actually two sheets. Why for?

She studied them, ''11:00 to 11:30 am- what?! Same slot but Danson Tang Yu Zhe and Yang Zhen Lan??" Miss Cherry turned flustered as there in her hands were two duplicate copies but different names of students on each one under the same slot. "Everything else on other slots are exactly similar! Why this one! Oh dear..."

She took a brief glance at her watch just to be safe. Unluckily, she has to rush out again before it was too late to pick up her bouquet order.

007 and Tian Mo Xing, on the other hand, have returned to the clubroom. They saw that the computer was still on with no one else around so 007 went over to it. He discovered that the connection through the mystery CD was very much active.

He moved the mouse, "Hangman?"

"I never knew we have this game," Tian Mo Xing remarked eagerly.

007 tried to toggle and close the connection before going back to the game window.

"Hey, there are already 2 letters filled in!" she observed.

"Are they? H and Y...," he studied closely. "Any vowel?" Both of them began their guesses.


	24. Chapter 24: Engaging Alarm

"Yes! Go for it, 007! You can do it! Zhan Shi De is the best!" Tian Mo Xing pressingly cheered as 007 managed to hit the first vowel - 'E' right.

'Seema like it can be either a noun or an action verb," 007 quietly decided in his mind.

"Are you gonna try for a vowel again?" Tian Mo Xing asked him.

"We've got three letters out of seven already. If there is yet to be a vowel, there is equal possibility for an 'I' or an 'E'," he told soberly.

Tian Mo Xing looked closer at the screen before them, then relaxed a bit, "007, not a single line of hangman figure has been drawn, can't we just play light-heartedly by trial and error?"

He turned to her and thought that since this game came up mysteriously out of nowhere, then something may not be apparent at first sight. He wondered if he should just shrug off the premonition, "What do you think?"

She too has on a more serious expression this time, "Didn't you mention 'I' first?...Wait a minute!" Tian Mo Xing quickly alerted his attention back to the monitor.

"A timer starting," 007 noticed.

"007, look at that," Tian Mo Xing pointed to a dialog box suddenly appearing. She read, "Please make sure you keep track...Sheng Ying's top-scorer..."

They were left with a duration of 2 minutes. Out of urgency, 007 pressed 'I'.

The screen flashed for a short second and another bigger dialog box became visible, "Let us enjoy a different experience of hangman!"

Indeed, a line representing the ground was drawn and both 007 and Tian Mo Xing were a little taken aback. They could hear a kind of siren-like sound emanating automatically from the computer.

"So, this is,...?" Tian Mo Xing wavered.

"What distinguishes this game," 007 concluded.

"How come it felt so familiar?" she questioned with warily.

"This sounds similar to our school's alarm siren. If we don't turn the volume off and could be heard by others, it probably will alert the security," 007 deduced.

"Huh?" she hurriedly looked about, wanting to turn off the disturbing sound.

Another box warned, "Turning me off will cause you to lose all the more clues...hehe..." The timer continued to flash, signalling a significant amount of time wasted.

007 observed the speakers and reminded that they were specially built-in. He suggested for them to use the external speakers.

Tian Mo Xing took a deep breath and headed over to the shelf behind the desk but somehow, she could not find them. She got a bit tense, "007, I think 747 has sent them over for repair last week...What should we do now?"

He went over and checked about, hating to admit that what they needed were truly out of sight. He assured the anxious Tian Mo Xing, "Don't worry, trust me..."

Down a hallway, 747 and the newly-met student, Genie Zhuo did manage to spot 187 heading non-chalantly oppositely towards them. 747 quicken his footsteps, yet it was hard to tell if 187 was actually aware of them. "Hey, 187!" 747 shouted across the area. "How come it's only now that you are showing up? Do you know that schoolmate Genie Zhuo has been overly upset about you? Why are you not responding to her messa..." 747 was abruptly stopped from continuing when Genie suddenly nudged him hard.

187 took down his bluetooth headset, "What did you say??"

She turned to 747 and said softly, "It's okay, Huang Hui Hong, I can understand why, so don't bring up this matter to him..."

187 walked up close to reach them, "Oh, it's you?"

747 only has no wish of not complying with the gentle Genie's thoughts. Turning to 187, he cleared his throat, "So, where has our masterboy Qian Fu Hao been to yesterday?"

"What?" 187 almost thought the question unreasonable. "We were looking for Mastermind Computer Centre, then on the way, I came across..." he now realised the trap. "Across....."

"At a lost for words now? Wasn't it a gift shop??" 747 has to blurt out.

"A gift shop?" Genie cried in somewhat surprise.

747 nodded, "In order to look for something for his precious ones." 187 quickly rushed forward to cover his mouth but still failed to prevent 747 from revealing.

"Really?" Genie gasped and smiled happily.

747 pushed 187 aside, "I was even wondering, whether it's for you or....." He turned to 187.

"Errr..." 187 pretended to look away and appeared to be in a dilemma.

"Whether it was for you or some...?" 747 repeated with an implicative tone.

187 still hesitated and did not dare to face Genie.

747 sighed, "Oh my, Genie Zhuo, want me to disclose one particular strong habit of his?"

"What's that?" she only appeared more innocent.

"It has to do with people of the opposite gender all around him," 747 smilingly offered. "He just couldn't control himself," he was eyeing the indecisive 187 every second or so. "That is..."

"Alright, cut that out!!" 187 finally gave in. He turned around, and forcing a jovial face, advanced towards Genie, taking her hand, "Here, this slip is another gesture of my unfailing love for you, ever-lovely Priestess of Beauty, Genie..." He gave her a receipt-like thingie and then, a soft peck on the cheek. 747 has no choice but to turn away, trying to suppress the goosebumps.

"Thank you, Fu Hao. You will always be the greatest in my heart," Genie held on tight to what 187 has given her. 747 could not stand.

Thanks to the bell, the pair of couple parted ways as she has to go for her class. Leaving 747 and 187, it seemed that the guys would be in for another round of bickering.

"Oh good, 007, you did it at last - HONESTY!" Tian Mo Xing was utterly relieved now and jumped out of glee.

Yet, they were not spared from the next dialog box, saying, "Can Ordeal Mind People? Always Seek Some Interest Over Negligence!"

"Again??" Tian Mo Xing's face immediately fell.

"Another word this time," 007 uttered soberly. He thought hard about the missing ten blanks.

"Oh," Tian Mo Xing moaned.

The timer started once more and he quickly hit a key.

"Oopps," the screen flashed and Tian Mo Xing nearly had a fright. The siren began another time. "Why is that it's more than twice louder now?"

007 moved on swiftly to hit a different letter and two 'S's were right. However, the siren did not stop at all.

"Gosh, 007, what if the next one is...?" Tian Mo Xing became pretty worried.

He consoled her to have confidence that things would be alright. Continuing on with another key, she stayed by his side, praying that everything would be smooth.

The screen flashed unfortunately, and the volume increased another three-fold. Tian Mo Xing has to cover her ears.

007 noticed some shadows behind the frosted glass of the door. Then, voices of people who sounded to be passing by could be heard. "007," Tian Mo Xing has the same thought as him that the deafening noise must have gathered people's attention even outside the clubroom.

"I'll work this out fast," he affirmed and she went over to the door to peep through.

Even though 007 managed to get the next letter right, the sound did not die down at all.

Tian Mo Xing saw from a tiny bit of opening that more and more curious students crowded around the doorway. She kept on checking every now and then as 007 continued to handle the game, also worrying the heated concentration might cause his illness' symptoms to flare.

"Ah, the security," Tian Mo Xing wondered what should she do upon spotting them approaching from behind the group of onlookers. She did not want to distract 007. Standing on the sideline, she struggled to fight back anxiety while looking despondently at him utilizing his full effort. She felt she would call out to him any second from now and the security got nearer.

007 looked intently at the screen, and some realisation dawned on him. Running his fingers fast over the keys, the next thing he heard was Tian Mo Xing's hasty footsteps towards him. "007, how should we explain to them?" she rushed to his side, appearing outrightly uncertain. "Ahh!" she shut her eyes.

When the screen flashed and 007 turned back to look at it, the game window has disappeared. All noise ended ultimately.

The regained silence gave Tian Mo Xing the courage to look up again, "Why? Everything's gone?!"

007 moved the mouse as she continued to inquire, "007, did you solve it?"

He was not sure what to answer, not until, seeing something at a corner of the taskbar, he turned to her, "Thank you, Tian Mo Xing. You pressed the screenshot-taking hotkey on time."

"Me? Really? I thought my careless finger spoil the whole thing," she almost could not believe when 007 showed her by clicking on the screenshot image saved right at the last second before the game vanished after their victory.

Along the hallway outside, Teacher Cherry was rambling on and on to her dad through the phone in her hand for not calling Mrs Tao to wish her Happy Mother's Day.

"Oh sorry, Xiao Tao," Principal Tao apologised on the line. "You should know the time difference between us here and Taiwan...It's 3 in the morning now...Please understand."

Miss Cherry fumed, "I don't care, dad. When will you realise that a husband wishing his legitimate wife is one of the joys of marriage?!"

Her father sighed, "Xiao Tao, I really should take the chance to say this - the board of directors of Sheng Ying has contacted me about your recent performance. You should place more seriousness in your current position..."

Miss Cherry also sighed in return, "Dad, how many times have I said that I definitely will. I haven't even started complaining about the tonnes of dusty books about Sheng Ying's long history you nagged me to read everyday!"

What followed was endless lecturing from Principal Tao's end, "It's really for your own good, Xiao Tao. Like when you go to meetings, you don't have to worry that people will know much much more than you do. Then, there is the feeling of being an outcast and..." Miss Cherry yawned and begged to hang up this moment, but only to notice that she ended up before a huge crowd of chattering students with even two security officers? What was happening to MIT clubroom??


	25. Chapter 25 : Keeping Track

It was only after a whole two hours of checking by the security officers and then Teacher Cherry clarifying the matter and lengthy persuasion that everything was actually alright that she, 007 and Tian Mo Xing could have the room to themselves again. After everyone else had left, they started thinking about the outcome of the hangman game that has been successfully completed.

Looking at the printed screenshot, the three of them wondered what could be behind such clue words which appeared pretty general in a sense. 007 thought they could be somewhat related to principles of attitude and behaviour which people should foremost adhere to. Then, in the midst of the process of figuring an explanation, Teacher Cherry sounded she has struck the target, "I remember!!"

Both 007 and Tian Mo Xing instantly looked up at her simultaneously, "What's that?"

Teacher Cherry displayed a smile of victory and walked up to them, "Luckily, luckily...if I had not been talking to father earlier on, I wouldn't have recalled about those crazy history books of this school..."

"History books?" the two wondered and wanted Miss Cherry to quickly reveal the details.

Teacher Cherry set down the paper on the table and beamed, "Honesty and Compassion - these are merely two of the items from a lengthy list making up the code of conduct for all members of Sheng Ying, compiled by the Honourable Sir Remus Chiang, also the respected founder of Sheng Ying, which...can be found in... the very first volume of the series 'Glory in History - A Decade of Promising Sheng Ying'."

007 and Tian Mo Xing was kind of amazed by Miss Cherry's memory power this time - befitting the title of the Acting Principal.

Miss Cherry clasped her hands together and finally felt herself deserving to relish a priceless moment of self-pride, her eyes turning a bit dreamy, "Oh,...that phone call I made was indeed fortunate, now I realised the use of it...Though, dad truly has some skills in nagging me..."

Tian Mo Xing added, "Miss Cherry, dad is merely worried about you...being a principal is not that easy." Then, turning to him, she praised, "Amazing 007, who would have thought that 'Compassion' is made out of the first letters of every word in the second hint - 'Can Ordeal Mind People? Always Seek Some Interest Over Negligence', haha!"

007 smiled and began to go deeper, "Code of Conduct for all members of Sheng Ying, honesty..."

"007, what has it to possibly do with us or Yuan Lan Ying?" Tian Mo Xing urged.

Teacher Cherry sighed and went back to her usual mood, "You're right, Tian Mo Xing, being a principal is totally not easy...especially when people nearly everywhere are being sceptical about your family background...oopps, sorry, Tian Mo Xing! Did I say anything you're not suppose to hear? Sorry, I can be really too much at times!!"

Tian Mo Xing only shook her head and smiled, "Don't worry, Sis..."

"Oh," Teacher Cherry was more than glad to hear her sister addressing her this way.

After taking in Teacher Cherry's words, 007 hypothesised, "Perhaps, we have already done away with the first one - Honesty. The main purpose after going through all the games played on us by Lu Ke Ying, Principal Tao and Teacher Angel has successfully accomplished this quality, by coming to terms with and disclosing their true relationship with Tian Mo Xing and Lu Ke Ying, who is also, the brother of both of you and Teacher Cherry."

Tian Mo Xing and Teacher Cherry could not agree less on what 007 just said and nodded in response.

"Then, how about 'Compassion'?" Tian Mo Xing asked eagerly.

"This could be what we're attempting to uncover right now," he offered after giving some thought.

"Who would have thought that my dad's doings could result in such incomprehensible mystery...My...And all those board of hard-hearted directors, wonder how am I going to face each one of them," Teacher Cherry moaned, then suddenly gasped aloud.

"What's wrong, Miss Cherry?" Tian Mo Xing was also startled by her.

Teacher Cherry hurriedly grabbed her bag, "Good thing dad mentioned to me about 'meetings'. I have a feeling that I forgot something..."

007 sat up, "Miss Cherry, do you know that 747 has helped fixed your deadline reminder's software?"

She only turned to him blankly, "Really?? Oh no, I haven't checked yet, why not you guys come with me? I'm afraid I'll get stuck again and just have to make sure everything's working right..."

She then raced out of the room, with 007 and Tian Mo Xing trailing quickly behind.

Once they have reached the principal's office, everyone gathered around the computer and opened up the reminder program.

Teacher Cherry could breathed with relief after all the running upon checking that the next monthly meeting with the board of directors was to be held the next day. 007 and Tian Mo Xing could also relax a bit.

Before the two of them were about to leave, Teacher Cherry's secretary entered and has on a look of surprise. "Miss Cherry, how come you are still here?"

"What's wrong?" Teacher Cherry shrugged at such question.

The secretary only continued, "As far as I know, a pre-poned meeting was to start in less than 30 minutes." She took a brief glance at her watch.

"What?!" the three exclaimed in unison.

"Yup," the secretary nodded.

"Sandy," Teacher Cherry cried out of confusion. "My record says the meeting is scheduled for tomorrow, why are you saying it's today? Did you make any mistake?"

"Ah yes," she tried to correct. "That was the old one, the directors have called few days ago saying that they have changed to today for added convenience."

"Goodness," Teacher Cherry became frustrated. "Why didn't you let me know?"

"I have already sent you an email..."

"Email?! An important thing like that and you can only say you 'sent' and email? Then, how come you're especially calling my cellphone for the also another important matter of the attendance record. Just why are you emailing me when you should try a more sensible means of getting in touch with me and calling to tell me when I can easily see these pile of papers resting on my table!!"

The secretary sighed hard, "I just thought that you would have seen the sheet of big notice put up by the wall behind my cubicle whenver you're on your way in here."

Teacher Cherry retorted with more anger, "Didn't you say it's 'behind' your cubicle, and aren't you always seated in front of it?? Just how can my eyes see in that case? I haven't even reprimanded you for the duplicate copies of attendance sheet with different names on them!"

"Miss Cherry, it's really a tough job for me and I have to work very hard to get each sheet of them from every class teacher. Those somewhat duplicate copies were obtained straight from Miss Y..."

Miss Cherry cut her back from finishing as her gaze abruptly rested on the wall clock before them, "I don't care and I don't understand why do you have to argue with me all the time, Sandy! Just how am I going to get to the meeting venue when the time is already....."

"You only have 27 minutes left, Miss Cherry, you better hurry," Tian Mo Xing reminded urgently.

"Huh?" Miss Cherry almost could not believe it and got a little dizzy.

"Yes, Miss Cherry, you better set off now so as to avoid the rush hour traffic as much as possible," 007 also persuaded.

"Oh well," there was no other choice left but for her to go against the clock this time. She took her bag and stormed out of the room, giving Sandy an overly-furious look in the process before leaving the doorway.


	26. Chapter 26: Managing Clues

When Miss Cherry has managed to reach the conference room, the group of directors who were already present had decided to call off the meeting. They were all prepared to leave and one of them who first walked up to Miss Cherry at the doorway looked deeply disappointed, "Miss Cherry, we have waited for you for over half an hour. What have you to say?"

Miss Cherry quickly bowed to apologise, "Sorry, Mr Lee and everyone, I have overlooked today's schedule."

He only raised his hand to hint he has no wish to hear such excuse, "That reason aside, do you actually come prepared?"

"Huh?" Miss Cherry seemed to be not able to react on time.

Mr Lee sighed, "Like, your reports??"

Miss Cherry was dumbfounded. How on the earth was she able to remember those documents having gone through the horrible rush.

Mr Lee could tell what her answer would be upon studying her expression, "Miss Cherry, I'm afraid to say you really should consider by now, whether you are actually suited to continue your current post as an acting principal..." He then left with the others, who only gave her sour looks.

Over at Sheng Ying, 007 and Tian Mo Xing have headed over to the library to search for the school's history book which Miss Cherry had mentioned to them.

They presumed that they have came up to the right section. Tian Mo Xing remarked, "It's really unfortunate that Teacher Cherry's copy has a whole three-quarter of the page torn off. Otherwise, we could just obtain more clues straight from it..."

007 stooped down and ran his fingers through the row of books on one of the lower shelves, "We're almost at it, only that it's weird this series of volumes are not placed in order."

Tian Mo Xing also crouched down beside him, "Could it be that they have been borrowed as well?"

"Surely a possibility," he agreed.

She reached forward as they both finally spotted the first volume at the same time, "007, let me get it for you...Don't hurt your wounds again..."

Tian Mo Xing has to exert some effort as the thick books were fitted too tightly together. When she was pulling it out halfway, the whole cupboard shook.

"Tian Mo Xing, careful!!" 007 cried as the shelf nearly wanted to collapse and he hastily hurled himself in between her and the bulky tower. Tian Mo Xing was startled by his action as he persisted with one hand to push back the shelf behind them to regain its balance.

"007, are you okay?" she helped him sit back up again and checked with concern.

"Don't worry," he breathed hard and faced her with a forced smile. "Are you alright?" he asked her in return.

"Oh you," Tian Mo Xing only became more worried. "How can you still care so much when you yourself are obviously exhausted?!"

He touched her face, "I'm okay." Deep inside, he always felt a pang of sadness whenever that sunshine smile on her face suddenly disappeared.

The sound of a book slipping out of the edge of a corner behind the shelf interrupted their attention. 007 reached out to take it and they noticed the pages in the middle.

"Hey, that girl in the picture looks awfully familiar!" Tian Mo Xing observed.

"We have definitely seen her before," 007 affirmed and read the caption below it that said she was a year 2005 junior scholarship winner to be admitted to Sheng Ying.

"Yuan Lan Ying!!" Tian Mo Xing caught her name printed.

"No wonder," 007 uttered in realisation.

"She was 12 years old then," she further stated and then flipped through the other pages to see. "Weird eh, she achieved straight As in all 12 subjects for the entrance exam, yet she was not found as one of the top three students during the year-end awards?"

Then, 007 noticed a considerable length of thread dropping out from in between the pages of the book and grabbed hold of it.

"Oh, we got a clue, a creamy white one," Tian Mo Xing described upon closer look.

Inside the MIT clubroom, 187 was still fixing his hair before his trademark handmirror and seated at one corner while 747 was stretching about and engaged in his own warm-up exercise at another extreme far end.

When 007 and Tian Mo Xing have entered, they were still not giving any heed to them both and continued to remain silently oblivious.

"Showing up only now...," 007 commented and went over to the table.

Both still didn't care a single bit.

"Hey, what's wrong with you both?" Tian Mo Xing pressed.

"I have try my best to stay calm and return here, any other issue, just ask him," 187 still appeared not bothering and went on to indulge in his own business.

747 was also avoiding everyone else's gaze, "Eh, I have also managed to keep my cool and arrived back here, any other queries, just ask him..." He then went on to stretch his strong limbs.

"Oh come on you both, we did manage to gather some useful clues a while ago, please, keep your focus!" Tian Mo Xing urged.

This at least alerted the two, as they both cleared their throats in sync.


	27. Chapter 27: Going Detailed

"Ohmigosh," Teacher Cherry flopped onto the hard armchair, out of exhaustion, and consequently, hurt her a great deal. She moaned, "I have never felt like a devastated failure in my whole life! This is indeed my first experience!"

"Miss Cherry," 187 came forward. "Just don't give yourself more disappointment by thinking about the meeting too much."

She sighed heavily, "Alright now, before I sink further into uselessness, I need to come up with the reports as fast as possible, before the directors set up the schedule for the next meeting..." She then sat upright again and diverted her attention straight away to the computer before her.

After some mouse-clicking and typing, she really felt like burying her face in her hands and go for a nap, "I just can't figure out why my list of database files have to be resorted to begin with old ones few years back and renamed without clue. Where exactly is my Staff Employment Report??" Her eyes were about to go blurry.

007 noticed from the screen that everything was like going back in time to year 2005 too. He quickly turned to her, "Miss Cherry, can you recall if anything happens back in that year?"

She scratched her head and appeared uncertain, "I was still doing my degree program overseas so all I can say is that, my father, Principal Tao first took up his post in this school then..."

"Then, what does the Staff Employment report contain, Miss Cherry?" 747 also asked.

"Oh," she thought hard. "It is really important, highlights include salary increment, accumulation of first half-year bonuses and the list of staff members who should be laid off." She continued to check her email inbox and after skimming through, was obviously indignant, "I'm really starting to suspect if Sandy is behind a scheme to wreck the meeting. I just can't find any mail sent by her to me all over!"

747 then reminded, "Miss Cherry, your computer has been tampered upon by an imposter so naturally emails will be gone."

"Right," she has no choice but to agree.

007 added, "Yuan Lan Ying's data could not be found in the clubroom's computer. She must have left this school for a period to have all information marked as obsolete and then deleted."

Tian Mo Xing also began to ponder, "Why does she have to leave school and whether the reason has anything to do with the employment report?...Ahhh!" She hurriedly walked up to Miss Cherry, "Let's call our dad, teacher!"

She nodded at the thought of such idea and praised Tian Mo Xing. Taking out her cellphone to dial, everyone waited expectantly.

The call did not get through as Principal Tao's phone was switched off. Teacher Cherry could only leave an urgent message in his voicemail.

"Oh dear," Tian Mo Xing frowned. "They must have gone for their regular meeting with the psychiatrist..."

007 placed an encouraging hand on her shoulder, "Don't worry, we still have our clues..." Turning back to face Miss Cherry and the others, he held up the thread which Tian Mo Xing and him had found earlier on, "After some attempts in matching the colour of this thread with various attire, I can be 99.9% assured that this belongs to a full-body laboratory suit for students in this school."

Everyone went closer to inspect and something also struck Teacher Cherry. She cried, "Yes, that's right! The fake technician was also wearing a lab suit yesterday!"

"Hey, wait a minute," Tian Mo Xing was quick to observe.

007 got her point," Entangled with the white thread is another much shorter navy blue one, which unfortunately, does not correspond with any of Sheng Ying's uniforms."

187 caught hold of it and subtly, felt a bit of sense of familiarity, yet also some uncertainty.

007's gaze inadvertently fell on the papers on the table and went on to inquire, "Miss Cherry, you were arguing with secretary Sandy about the duplicate copies of the attendance records..."

She was grateful for the reminder, "I've gone through the time-slot between 11 to 11:30 and for these two sheets here, one stated Danson Tang Yu Zhe and the other, Yang Zhen Lan. Apart from the name difference, everything else was exactly similar." She showed them what was printed.

They then went on to look up relevant data pertaining to the two suspected students.

"Danson Tang Yu Zhe, Class 5A; Used to be a white-listed student; Also widely known as the teacher's pet by fellow classmates; First sat for an school-entrance exam and passed with average grades; Nowadays, an A-scorer in Mathematics, Mechanics, Computer Studies and Chemistry..."

"Yang Zhen Lan, Class 5A; Regularly represented the school in tournament participation such as the Interschool Basketball and Hockey matches; Currently involved in the ongoing Association of Asian Elite Schools' Basketball tournament in Singapore..."

"Seems to me quite obvious," Tian Mo Xing was the first to speak up after reading through.

"Why is that, Tian Mo Xing?" 747 asked.

"Because, Danson Tang takes up computer studies," she deduced.

"Oh," 747 thought. "Is it because of the incident back at the computer lab?"

Teacher Cherry also nodded, "Hmmm, looking at his appearance, if I could put on a pair of glasses for him,"

187 looked closer, "So Yang Zhen Lan is now competing in Singapore?? How can we possibly reach him??"

Teacher Cherry then wasted no time to seek information from her secretary the whereabouts of Yang Zhen Lan and truly indeed, this student was currently outstation.


	28. Chapter 28: Later Discoveries

In this counselling room, Teacher Cherry was feeling more convinced with each passing minute from the moment she summoned him here for interrogation even though he has been maintaining an icy cold calm demeanour since he entered.

"Okay, now," Teacher Cherry stood up from her seat and begin to pace around the room, more accurately around the table where he was seated. "Danson Tang Yu Zhe, right? Can you tell me where were you between roughly 10 to 11:30 yesterday's morning?"

He pursued in keeping his cool even when answering, "I was first having my Biology class, then, went on to my Mathematics class..."

"Really?" Teacher Cherry was trying every way to catch his hesitance, but there was not shown a single trace of it. "Who is Yang Zhen Lan, in relation to you?"

"We're good friends, if you can believe that," he said a-matter-of-factly.

"Good friends..." Miss Cherry considered. "In a way that if you request for help from him, he will agree no matter what?"

He smirked, "Principal Cherry, 'good friends' can have lots of meaning, and be equally subjected to variety of situations and conditions."

She was pretty much dissatisfied with such response, not giving her a chance to make him sound wavered. She cleared her throat, "I did check that you had no other Science class yesterday, particularly lab sessions, so would you bring what you usually need for them under any circumstances?"

This instant, he let out a brief laugh, "Principal Cherry, if you had already known about the classes I had yesterday, why did you have to ask me about my Biology and Maths classes again in the first place? You are already very much knowledgeable about them. And no, I don't always bring my dissecting set, lab coat or suit or whatever..."

Miss Cherry abruptly stopped and stood back at her seat before him, "Then...!" A loud knock on the door disrupted her focus. She was forced to discontinue, "Come in!"

The door opened and in came Miss Yeh. Miss Cherry was indeed surprised and also quite displeased to see her.

She straightforwardly requested, "Miss Cherry, I'm afraid that I need Danson Tang to come with me to my class right this second."

Miss Cherry went over to her, "Miss Yeh, I do need to have a talk with your student at the same time, would you mind giving me a chance?"

She shook her head mercilessly, "Miss Cherry, we are about to have a mock quiz session and as you know, Danson Tang is an extremely valuable student to us, his scores have been entered into the national level board. He will be representing the school for the next day's state-wide Mathematics competition. If he fails, will you be responsible for that, please delay your interrogation to a later time. As for now, he needs to go..."

After thinking about what was said, Miss Cherry breathed hard and decided to release him.

Over at the clubroom, the gang of four were waiting impatiently for Miss Cherry to finish her task. 007 remained seated in front of the computer.

187 came forward to see what was he messing with and sighed, "Still waiting for clues and this screenshot? It's been quite a while already since you got that 'code of conduct' thingie..."

747 chipped in, "Come on, 007, give yourself a short break to unwind first. Like that time when I got the screenshot, running out of free hints for game 2, I simply can't solve the puzzle."

007 added, "I get a sense that they represents Roman numerals, and if it doesn't mean a strange four, then it's a combination of one and three..."

"Huh?" 747 was still blank and then merely turned to Tian Mo Xing, who was still indulged in that 2005 yearbook. "Hey, Tian Mo Xing, you're also studying about it?"

She looked up and nodded, "So what has Danson Tang Yu Zhe to do with Yuan Lan Ying?"

007 offered, "I have checked the data of all other students in that same year and each one of them was still available, only Yuan Lan Ying's was nowhere to be found. There must be something that happened which forced Yuan Lan Ying to leave this school, causing her to be left out completely. And probably has to do with our side having compassion on her or whosoever. The other day, we watched the show dealing with the theme of 'giving and then taking back', could be connected with offering Yuan Lan Ying a place in this school but in the end, refusing her as well."

"Oh," Tian Mo Xing and the rest tried their best to digest the details. Then, 187 quickly interrupted the process, "Wait a sec, what show did you guys watch?"

007 was about to explain but Teacher Cherry came storming into the room, appearing terribly frustrated, "I just hate it! We need to figure out his loopholes as soon as we can!"

They all were a little taken aback. "Teacher Cherry, how was it?" Tian Mo Xing was the first to ask.

Teacher Cherry sat down and kept going through the two pages in her hands, "There must be something behind this..."

187 shrugged, "Apparently, it was not successful."

They all gathered around her to help out. 007 took Danson's sheet and noticed more closely the shade of the ink colour used. Tian Mo Xing turned to him, "Here 007, my magnifying glass is handy again!"

He gladly accepted it and checked, "These tiny spots over at the edges could signify that this sheet was previously photocopied from a carbon copy."

Teacher Cherry snapped her fingers, "Right, attendance records usually come with a carbon copy!"

007 went on, "I'd also say that the original was not photocopied once but twice, considering its appearance."

"Oh ya," Teacher Cherry understood.

007 held up Yang Zhen Lan's copy too, "The names printed show some discrepancies in the appearances of the ink used. Probably for the second copy, white-out was used to erase Yang Zhen Lan's name and have Danson Tang's printed over it."

"Huh? But I don't get why the trouble of making things so complicated having to use the carbon copy," 747 doubted.

Teacher Cherry sighed, "Could be just so that Miss Yeh won't find her original copy missing and not being able to suspect."

"Then, Danson Tang should be the one!" Tian Mo Xing exclaimed.

"Okay now, this student is not easy to deal with," Miss Cherry revealed. "Is there any other way to discover more evidence about him?"

They all set to get their mind thinking. After some moments, 007 turned to 747, "I think we should go to the store you last told me. The person you heard conversing over the phone has a high probability to be Danson Tang."

"Ahh!" Tian Mo Xing cried all of a sudden.

'What's wrong?" everyone asked.

"I only remember now that I have a late assignment to submit," she said embarrassingly. "But it's okay, just tell me the location and I will be joining you all later."

"Okay, we'll set off then, will be waiting for you," 007 assured her.

"Alright, I still have time and since solving the case is more important," Miss Cherry agreed.

"But wait," Tian Mo Xing uttered again.

"What's the matter again, Tian Mo Xing?" 747 asked.

She clarified, "I thought I saw something sticking out from here a while ago. Teacher Cherry was stepping on it then." She stooped down by the table and started to look about under it.

007 did the same and soon, managed to finger out a sheet of paper, "Is it this one?"

She looked to make sure and then eagerly nodded, "Yes."

"What kind of thing is that?" Miss Cherry also came forward.

"Page 10 of 10," Tian Mo Xing read and then went over the title.

"Staff Employment Report!!" Teacher Cherry almost could not believe it.

"Miss Cherry, isn't this really important?!" Tian Mo Xing realised and handed it over to her.

Teacher Cherry grabbed hold of it, "How did this end up here?...Ah yes, I remember once we were having discussion and 187 said that I had printed something from the office using this room's computer. Oh goodness!!"

"Then, how come there's only the last page, what about the rest?" Tian Mo Xing carried on to search around.

"That's right, where are the others?" Miss Cherry followed suit and so did the rest. After a while, they still did not manage to find.

"I think let's plan this way," Miss Cherry decided. "It's gonna take time and I will continue to look for them. 007, 187 and 747, you guys will go to store instead."

Everyone complied with the suggestion and the three of them headed out.

At the convenience store, they tried their best to find out more clues and just as what 747 has told, there was indeed no surveillance camera installed any where.

007 walked down a particular aisle and noticed that the place did sell some old stock of video tapes. And blank ones as well. Picking out one of them, he was by now more certain of where that guy has gotten the PAL tape.

He thought he would go to the cashier and seek out more information when out of the blue, another person did so before he got the chance.

"Finally, the dry cleaner returns to us. Just in time when he need this for tomorrow's class," 007 saw a man passing a bag of something to the lady cashier. Pretending to walk closer, he did manage to catch a slight glimpse of what was inside and then, after noticing that the two were casting doubtful glances at him, he went away.

It struck 007 that 747 and 187 were nowhere to be seen. Reaching the doorway, he saw 187 turning to a corner. He hurried to catch up with him.

187 was talking to someone over the phone, as made out by 007. He wondered if he should interrupt but he could already hear what 187 was saying.

"Yes, that Doraemon gift hamper is especially for you. Okay, hope you like it," he concluded after not long. 007 was about to call out to him when he turned another corner again.

187 then spoke into his headset that he has something to attend to and needed to leave first, not knowing that 007 was actually not far behind him. 187 quicken his footsteps away from the vicinity of the store.

007 wanted to catch up with him and tried informing 747 through his headset.

"Hey, 007!" 747 called without warning from behind.

007 sighed, "Where were you?"

He only smiled sheepishly, "I, of course, have gone to the washroom, trying to check things out, but seemingly, achieve nothing...Where's that 187 going to in such a hurry?" He too noticed now.

"Doraemon gift hamper, could it be stage II in between I and II that I have missed out?" 007 uttered thoughtfully.

"What did you say?" 747 was blank.

007 was somehow being distracted by a cab pulling into the curb not far from the pavement. Something caught his attention sharply and he subsequently recalled the license plate number. He then told 747 to go after 187 instead, which 747 reluctantly agreed with his limited explanation.

007 was sure that this cab had fetched Yuan Lan Ying and the technician to the suspected Mastermind Computer Centre the other night. He was about to approach the driver when the latter, being still inside the car, took out his cellphone.

"Hello, I would like to report a lost belonging I found while driving some customers to a store two nights ago," 007 managed to catch his sentence within earshot.

After listening further, 007 was even more certain that what the driver has was Yuan Lan Ying's stuff. He then went over and feigned that he knew her and promised that he would return the thing to her right away. The driver simply gave the belonging to him with a word of thanks.

Studying what he has gotten as a result, 007 found it ironic to know that it was actually 187's pocket address book.


	29. Chapter 29: Finding Out

"Oh please, please, don't give me a failed grade for a late submission," Tian Mo Xing prayed as she rushed on her way to the staff office.

"At last you managed to find my lost uniform...How can you be so careless handling the laundry of students staying in the hostel!" Tian Mo Xing could hear a student close by scolding someone, seemingly a school janitor as she stopped in her track.

"I'm really sorry for this. Your uniform is now clean, sorry," the lady janitor kept on apologising but the girl merely snatched the clothes from her hand and turned about to leave without saying a word further. Tian Mo Xing thought she should go up to them and shouted to the girl.

"Hey you! Can't you hear she said 'sorry' and acknowledge that?!" she fumed.

The girl only gave an indifferent look and continued on her way. Turning back to the janitor, Tian Mo Xing was about to say some nice encouraging words when a thing on the floor caught her gaze. She got down and picked it up, noticing a mini family portrait inside the wallet.

"Auntie, do you actually know Yuan Lan Ying?" she quickly asked the janitor.

The lady hastily took the wallet back from Tian Mo Xing, "No, I don't know her...Thanks." She then hurriedly walked away, leaving Tian Mo Xing confused.

At the other end of the hallway, Teacher Cherry was walking towards them when she received a call.

"Hello?.....Okay, so the next meeting will be the day after tomorrow?? Got it," she took note of the reminder and hung up. Not too far away, she saw Tian Mo Xing and then a lady nearly out of sight, "Tian Mo Xing??"

Teacher Cherry quicken her footsteps and ran after her, "Madam Chen!!"

Tian Mo Xing only realised Teacher Cherry now and the lady, upon hearing her voice, has no choice but to turn back.

Teacher Cherry was relieved and slowed down, "At last I found you, can we have a talk?"

She paused with hesitance, appearing rather worried all of a sudden.

Over at 747's end, he was looking about for the sign of 187 on a busy street, after having lost him along the way.

"747, how's everything? Where's 187?" he heard 007 spoke through his headset.

"Oh goodness, I'm starting to suspect that 187 is really trying to secure some privacy for himself this time and trying to stop me from following him closely. I can't find him anywhere now, I thought I saw him went this way, but he disappeared!" 747 reported with disappointment.

"Okay, tell me where you are right now, I'll catch up with you," 007 returned.

On the other hand, observing here and there that no one could successfully show up to disturb his time with another one of his so-called newly-met sweetie, 187 could indeed have some personal moments with her in a nice gift shop.

"What do you think of this, Fu Hao?" she flashed a heart-melting smile while asking him.

"Oh, lovely," he did the same. "How do you like the gift I gave you last time?"

"Huh?" she seemed doubtful for a second, then nodded. "Not bad..."

He wondered, "Do you like Doraemon?"

She thought for some time before shrugging it off, "Anything..."

187 pondered again as she went on looking with admiration at the many gift items on display.

Then, turning around a corner into a different aisle, they knocked into someone.

The person did not apologise and merely walked away quickly, leaving the two complaining at her attitude.

"Oh dear," 187's girl moaned while he thought the stranger girl looked a little familiar. However, oversized dark-glasses with a cap on and her long hair let down, he failed to pinpoint her identity.

"Fu Hao, I think I need to go back home now, just don't want my family to be asking our whereabouts," he was persuaded by her to leave the shop. Perhaps, walking home with her could give him more opportunities to ask her more questions.

187 was still quietly brainstorming on how should he begin the topic to enquire her further when abruptly at the exit, they were stopped by a security officer.

"Sorry, our sensors have detected that you have an unpaid item with you right now. Please take it out," he said.

They both checked their bags, and truly indeed, an item was found in one of the unzipped pockets of her bag.

"But I truly did not put this in here," she struggled to explain.

"Sorry, please come with me to the police," the officer refused to accept her excuse.

Meanwhile, 747 and 007 were reaching close to the shop. "Since he said he came here yesterday to buy a charity gift for his precious one, we might as well try our luck," 747 told 007 but who would know that by the moment they ran up to the entrance, they really did see 187 and a good-looking girl there.

From a far hidden corner, gazing at them for a while before turning about to proceed on her way, she took off her glasses and cap. Genie decided that her plan has gone on smooth enough.

As for 187 and the rest, even with 747 and 007 help, they still could not talk the officer out of the matter and when the girl was forced to show her ID, 187 was surprised to know she was not 'Yuan Lan Ying', Genie's long-lost pen-friend as she introduced herself to be.

In the end, they have to sought Teacher Cherry's help for 187 and his girl to be released from the police station without any record of offence.

Teacher Cherry requested for them to go back to Sheng Ying and to personally have a serious talk with the suspected girl.

In the counselling room, the girl only begged that Teacher Cherry would not leak out the day's incident to people in her school so that there would be no blemish in her conduct record.

Teacher Cherry considered for a bit and went on to ask, "I can promise you if only you will promise me as well. Why is it that your real name is 'Yuan Lan Qing' and you have to hide that? Also, Qian Fu Hao dropped his address book at your home and it ended up with Yuan Lan Ying. Just what is your relationship with her?"

The girl only seemed clueless as to what she should say and uneasy silence fell while Teacher Cherry tried not to push her too hard and waited for her answer. The other four who were also in the room, only looked on at both of them.

Outside, Genie stopped by the doorway. Wondering what was the next step she should take, out of the blue, she felt a tap on her shoulder. Turning around, she gasped, "It's you again, Danson..."

He hushed her, "Why can't you be a little more certain of whose side you're helping?"

She did not like the question at all and thought about how should she retort. Next second, she could say no further when he grabbed her hand tight and pulled her along after he pressed a switch on the wall.

In the counselling room, there was a sudden blackout. It took them some time before 007 managed to turn the lights back on again.

However, Yuan Lan Qing was already gone. Teacher Cherry only kept asking where was she and everyone went out to search.

Then, 007 spotted her cellphone left on the chair. He saw from it that Yuan Lan Qing has been texting Yuan Lan Ying and quickly took it as he rushed out.

Seeing that the others still could not find her, 007 made used of the phone and starting calling.

Everyone could here the faint ringing sound of a phone coming from a certain corner. 007 tried to figure out where it actually was, and then told the rest to follow him to the stairs.

Tracing to the source of the sound, 007 somehow was right. They saw Yuan Lan Qing and another girl leading her along to run quickly down the steps. 007 strived to recall who the mysterious girl is when Tian Mo Xing raced past him and cried, "Wait, Yuan Lan Ying!!"

The moment both of them heard her voice, they were instantly startled and turned to look back in instinctive response. As a result, Yuan Lan Ying carelessly missed a step out of worst luck.

Before they did helplessly fall down the stairs, Tian Mo Xing was swift enough to catch one of them by the hand but she lost her balance as a result. 007 lunged forward to grabbed her hand straight away but the weight of all four of them was too much that he too tumbled down the stairs with them as a result.

"007!! Tian Mo Xing!!" Teacher Cherry exclaimed as she arrived at the entrance to the staircase just a few seconds late from behind with 187 and 747.


	30. Chapter 30: Knowing Better

"Yuan Lan Ying, at this point, I can readily understand why you would carry out such plans to cause confusion in the school. However, they also caused you some unnecessary injuries as a result," Teacher Cherry stood up from her seat and walked closer to side where Yuan Lan Ying was lying on the patient bed. After her fall down the stairs with her sister, both were considerably hurt and had to be sent to this hospital.

Yuan Lan Ying could not bravely face up to Teacher Cherry and avoided her gaze by looking down, not willing to verbally respond to her.

Teacher Cherry displayed some understanding of her attitude and went back to her seat, "Anyway, I've called your mother, Madam Chen, and she should be here any second now."

The sister, Yuan Lan Qing, appeared troubled upon hearing what was told them and sat up on the other adjacent bed, "Miss Cherry, why did you inform her?" She then turned to Yuan Lan Ying, "Sis, say something!"

Yuan Lan Ying only shot her a remorse look and continued to remain silent.

"Yuan Lan Ying," Teacher Cherry called with traces of impatience this time. "Even your sister has voiced out. Do you want to give an explanation or would you prefer me to do that for you first??"

She was not moved at all and the next moment, a lady came rushing into the room without knocking.

She was utterly shocked to see her two daughters sustaining those injuries. She hurriedly ran towards their bedsides gasping, "Xiao Ying...Oh, Xiao Qing, how did you both end up this way??"

Tears streamed down Yuan Lan Ying's face as Madam Chen hugged her daughter.

Teacher Cherry went over to them, assuring that the doctor has done thorough X-rays and nothing serious was observed. They only needed some rest and stayed for a few days before complete discharge.

Madam Chen thanked her and apologised for all inconvenience caused.

Yuan Lan Ying spoke up for the first time since that day to her mum, "I'm alright now, don't worry, Mum." She then quickly wiped her daughter's tears dry.

It was apparently about time that Teacher Cherry cleared things up and she wasted no time to begin, "Madam Chen, I gathered that you have been a long-time non-academic staff of Sheng Ying. From what my father, who is Principal Tao, told me, just when he was about to take up his post four years ago, you have been placed under a black list because of a certain incident which happened then. Principal Sun was in charge of the school during the first half year before my father did. As far as I know, he made used of his position in school to threaten you to retire by the time you reach 60 years of age. And you have just turned 59 not long ago. I saw your resignation letter on my table this morning and I am returning to you now." Teacher Cherry took it out from her bag and handed it back to her.

Madam Chen hesitated and Yuan Lan Ying cried angrily, "How can you expect us to believe you Sheng Ying people can be so kind - you all knew that my father has died when we were young and our whole family has been living solely off my mother's low income. She's a good mother who doesn't allow us two to work while we are still in school! The coming of this day has been haunting us like crazy over the last four years!" Her mother was trying to stop Yuan Lan Ying from speaking further.

"Yuan Lan Ying," Teacher Cherry maintained her calm. "Since you know even better and really well that life's tough, why would you want to attend St Mary's School's afternoon sessions even after you have successfully gotten Sheng Ying's scholarship back then. I'm sure you had known that being actively involved in another education institution was not allowed as a Sheng Ying's scholar. Are you aware that it was this reason that your mother got fired in advance, just to cover up for your violations?"

Yuan Lan Ying only knew by now and questioned with guilt, "Mum, is it true?"

Madam Chen only replied that whatever's in the past will be past.

Yuan Lan Qing only urged, "Sis, we have misunderstood..."

"Okay," Teacher Cherry tried to regain their attention. "What Sheng Ying's representative then, Principal Sun has done wrong was that he made used of the school's employment policy that should Madam Chen not able to fulfill the service of five out of ten years before the retirement age of 65, she would not be entitled to receive a certain lump sum of money as part of employment benefits." She then dug out the report she was able to find at last, "However, my father discovered Principal Sun's motive when he handed over his job to him and corrected his scheme to lay off Madam Chen this year instead of having her resign voluntarily."

"Why?" Yuan Lan Ying and her sister uttered in unison.

Miss Cherry smiled, "That's because under the Employees' Protection Act, if Sheng Ying directly lay off your mother, the school will provide for her financially for one year if she's passed 55 years of age and the start of her monthly pension payment will be pushed forward to five years earlier, which is just the right time for her."

They all did not expect such was possible.

Miss Cherry still continued, "Yet, we have an even better resolution. White lists, black lists, whether students or staff, they have been ruled out as obsolete nowadays. Even though your mum, Madam Chen, was black-listed then, I can bring up the issue during the upcoming meeting and it's either there's no need for us to fire you or like my father has thought that I might overlook your case and have it forgotten to lay you off so that you can receive your pension early. Only that, I have to figure out the difference in consequences of both remedies..."

On the other end of the room, Tian Mo Xing quickly stopped peeping at them after inevitably locking gazes with Teacher Cherry and went back to 007's side, "Sorry, I'm just really curious about the truth behind the case..."

"Tian Mo Xing, you are indeed a hyperactive type...I thought you should be more concerned about your 007 being so hurt all just because of you," 187 reminded sarcastically.

She could not help being offended again, "Hey 187, if it's not because of you hiding so much clues from us, we would have solved everything earlier!"

747 also joined in the bicker, "Yeah 187, Tian Mo Xing's right! You should have let us know who you're seeing secretly. That Yuan Lan Qing, resembles Yuan Lan Ying in some way, it's easy to guess that they're related, only you are so blind!"

187 was about to retort when 007 added, "Don't blame him, we missed showing him the Doraemon tape we found in the beginning. And I should have considered that it's Stage II that we have skipped - that is, 187 going to Yuan Lan Ying's home."

747 only realised, "So that symbol 'I III' actually meant the 2 in between one and three. Oh my!" He hit his own forehead.

"Okay, okay," Tian Mo Xing interrupted. "Now we should find a way to appeal to the doctor - let 007 stay overnight here so he can rest and let his wounds recover faster, he can't possibly walk on his own like this...That unreasonable doctor!!"

"Oh dear," 187 was almost getting fade up with her. "It's not the doctor's responsibility, Tian Mo Xing, can't you see it's all because of protecting you that he got all those bandages? You're perfectly fine even after the fall, so you got to take care of him...Boy, what time is it? I'm all hungry now..." He then pulled 747 along with him out of the room, who was reluctant to follow.


	31. Chapter 31: Offering Care

By the time Tian Mo Xing and 007 were back at the dorm, it was already past evening. With the help of a crutch and Tian Mo Xing accompanying him, it was not an impossible matter to handle. Tian Mo Xing assisted 007 fervently until they reached the couch with relief. She checked her watch and decided it was really about time.

She took out the bottle of medication from her bag, "Better apply this fast, before we forget all about it!"

007 appeared hesitant, "It's okay, I can manage..."

She sighed, "No, you're seriously hurt, how can you reach all the way to your back!"

Little signs of blushing betrayed his uneasiness as he reached out to grab hold of the bottle, "There's no need to trouble you, I'll do it..."

Tian Mo Xing only did her best to escape his grasp, "No, 007, just leave it all to me!"

The more 007 tried to stretch himself to aim for it, she dodged even further and in the end, he has no choice but to yelp in pain.

"007, are you okay?" Tian Mo Xing has to force him to sit back on the sofa. "See what I told you, don't pressure yourself, I'll help you."

Bracing the pain, he has to let down his guard and allow Tian Mo Xing to take off his warm blazer.

The moment Tian Mo Xing faced the deep bruises and bloody wounds, even her hands turned shaky while she tried her best to remain calm and pressed the cottonbuds onto the medication.

Still, being extremely cautious was not enough, as 007 winced hard when the ointment and Tian Mo Xing's finger inevitably touched his sore body.

"Oh, sorry 007! I didn't mean to...I'll do it more lightly!" Tian Mo Xing cried out and blinked back tears. Whether it was more of guilt or concern, she didn't how to make out. After more attempts, and more of 007's struggles, she could not help it but broke down helplessly.

007 turned about, "Tian Mo Xing?? Sorry, I'll try my best to withstand it..."

Tian Mo Xing looked up and bravely wiped her eyes, "No, why are you apologising?! I should be the one saying so...you ended up in this state all because of me!"

"Tian Mo Xing..."

"007, don't ever say sorry to me ever again...I'll never forgive myself!" her eyes glistened through their wetness.

He moved forward to hold her close and let her rest against himself, the hurts in his body momentarily forgotten. His breath could be felt strongly against her ear as he spoke assuringly, "Remember I ever said that I won't let my girlfriend cry alone...If she wants to cry, I'll cry along with her..."

Tian Mo Xing quickly choked back her emotions, "No, it'll hurt me even greater if I see you shedding tears for me...you have suffered so much physically..."

He smiled, "I regard every chance given me to protect you a miracle from above, Li Xiao Xing..."

The situation of 007's illness now came across Tian Mo Xing's mind, "007, why do you have to think this way?"

He only said, "Your love, like an angel's wings, never cease to give me strength to fly above my limitations, proving my fight against every obstacle and leading me to greater freedom..."

Tian Mo Xing let his answer sank deeper and deeper into her soul, "007, I have to admit that I should be the one to cherish you more..." She took down the locket he had given her and opened it to let the lovely tune played, as true to both their hearts as the touching renewed summer breeze which just came through the open windows. She snuggled even nearer to him and continued to treasure each second spent in his warm, loving embrace.

"Tian Mo Xing, can you hear it, the soft-sounding rhythm of our endearingly-knitted hearts? I'm starting to long to be forever close to you..." he closed his eyes to feel the loveliness of her engaging presence.

She nodded as she too shared in the understanding of their deep-felt togetherness.


	32. Chapter 32: Vain Attempt

Coming down the same hallway, Teacher Cherry grabbed the chance to stop them before going further. She raised a hand and blocked the path, "Miss Yeh, I was just thinking of meeting up with you..."

Miss Yeh eyed her sceptically and adjusted her glasses a little, "Meeting me?"

Teacher Cherry nodded implyingly, "And your especially favoured student."

Beside Miss Yeh, Danson gave a smirk, "Good Morning, Principal Cherry...I'm always pleased to offer as much help as I possibly could."

Teacher Cherry cleared her throat, "So, I'll just be straight...I have gathered the news that Yang Zhen Lan will be back from his tournament soon. Just as I have summoned you for interrogation the other day, I will also do the same with him, and makes the whole story behind the computer lab incident clearer."

As she spoke, Danson did not seem in the least disturbed all the time Miss Cherry has been observing sharply of him.

She continued, "But I am giving everyone a grace chance...Before I dig deeper into the case, what have Miss Yeh as well as you, in particular have to say for yourself?"

He only appeared lightly amused and added indifferently, "Thank you for reminding, Principal Cherry. All I would like to clarify is that, my bad in telling Yang Zhen Lan a mistaken order of our schedules the other day. Out of recalling wrongly, I have interchanged my Computer Science class with his Mathematics class, and he did the same vice versa."

Miss Cherry was instantly displeased, "Just what do you think you are in giving excuses for wrongdoings? Are you trying to say that I should ignore whatever you told me the other day and write those statements off? All I want from you is a truthful account of....."

Miss Yeh abruptly cut her back before finishing, "Miss Cherry, Danson Tang has already admitted to be a making a distorted interpretation of both their timetables. Sorry, I will mark the necessary corrections and return the file to you. For now, we have to rush together to the interschool quiz venue. Please excuse us!" She then gave the cue and Danson followed her on their way again, leaving Miss Cherry thoroughly dissatisfied with their reactions.


	33. Chapter 33: Mixed Up

Tian Mo Xing answered the call on her cellphone which has been ringing, "Hello?"

"Hey, Li Xiao Xing? This is Mandy from the store, your pre-ordered book has arrived and you can come and pick it up!"

Tian Mo Xing gasped, "Really?? It's only been a day or two!!"

"Yes, because of the lack of response, the distributor decided to do away with our batch of stock as quickly as they can, so here they are..."

Her face immediately fell, "Oh really, how disappointed gosh..."

"Well anyway, you have already paid...We don't mind if you wouldn't like to come get it, we'll just donate to the school's library branch..."

"Huh?" Tian Mo Xing just hated the way she say things. She looked at the time and sighed, "I will be there for sure!"

Both hung up. Tian Mo Xing just turned about again and went back on her way to the store near the dorm, quite let down.

Arriving there, it was noted that they have already put up huge ads introducing another round of promotion for a fresh new publication. Crowds of book-lovers were already gathered all around it that Tian Mo Xing found tough to just have a proper glimpse of the posters. A step further into the shop, and there happened pushing and shoving from every corner. Startled by the frenzy, Tian Mo Xing tried her best to aim straight for the counter instead.

"Hey, I'm here to collect 'A Multi-Faceted Garden'," Tian Mo Xing hurriedly requested.

Mandy strived to make out clearly whatever she said and went straight to put the book in any bag she could simply set her hands on being extremely busy she is now and passed the thing right away to her.

Taking the book, Tian Mo Xing suddenly remembered and stopped Mandy from rushing out to attend to the delivery of orders which just came.

"What's the matter?" she asked impatiently.

"Oh," Tian Mo Xing was determined to get a clarification. "You know, the other day, you implied and said something along the line that 'I got some skills', I really don't understand what you meant by that..."

Mandy tried to recall fast, and then smiled a little, "Of course you got the skills, two-timing both the genius Zhan Shi De and another stunning brainy lad at the same time, that's quite a thing to do!"

"What?!!" Not only was Tian Mo Xing surprised, but with the loud manner Mandy mentioned such weird observation, embarrassment could be felt too.

"Oh, did I say anything wrong? That evening when you came to order this book, a guy seemed to be behind you closely...even after you rush out of the store because of who-knows-what, he even picked up your stuff and followed you...I won't believe that you don't know him!"

Tian Mo Xing gaped in disbelief and confusion spread all over her head.


	34. Chapter 34: Well Earned

Pacing rather slowly with hesitance and dwelling deep in her thoughts, Tian Mo Xing continued to wonder about Mandy's rushed and brief description of a possible 'stalker' mysteriously lurking about in the least expected corners of here and there.

"Tall-build, dark hair reaching down barely above the shoulders, sharp mesmerizing-looking eyes, gentleman-like,.....Ahhh..." She decided that it was better to recap when exactly that day was and reconstruct a proper series of events which happened. She dropped by the general store, gathered each stuff she prepared beforehand to send to Ah Mu...did she buy anything from there? Was it planned to first order the book and take the form from Mandy?? What time did she reach Teacher Cherry's office?

Her recollection felt like an all-messy jumbled up jigsaw pieces as she rubbed her temples uneasily. Just an unexpected turn into another long hallway and she dropped something out from her skirt pocket.

A gentle tinkle as it landed on the floor alerted Tian Mo Xing promptly. She stooped down to realise it was the shiny silvery locket 007 gave her. Picking it up fast and checking each side for any noticeable scratch, it was lucky that signs of blemish were not in sight. Patting away dust, she smiled gratefully and opened the cover.

Enjoying the sweet melody, Tian Mo Xing hoped to listen to it along the way when something amiss struck her, "That headset, I've forgotten about it for the tenth time in a row." A case solved did not necessarily mean she has a reason to leave the communication tool behind. She marched in quicken steps down the way towards where she might have last seen it.

"Heart's Whispers?? Where is that coming from?" 007 heard faint echos of the song reaching out from an obscure corner. It then failed to persist after some seconds, and so made him shrugged the doubt off. Still with a crutch in one hand, he went about unsteadily to head to the school's cafeteria.

Moments later, the foremost place where everyone intended for early breakfast was jam-packed to the door with the majority of female students. Yet, a limping injured fellow did gain advantage of others' sympathy. Everyone tried to offer squeeze-into space for 007 as soon as he fell into their angle of vision. Unfortunately, Tian Mo Xing was not to be seen and subsequently, he could picture her forgetting all about their promise to meet here the day before. Otherwise, she could be simply late in turning up?

Before he decided to change course of direction to wait at the door being overwhelmed by the crowd, his gaze fell on the piles and piles of papers lying on the counter table. Girls were flocking there to find and grab hold of their, presumably submitted test sheets. Then, unpleasant continuous whinings and moanings filling up the whole of the cafe just made the guys hard to bear. Those pitiful students were firing miserable complaints at Tai An Ge the whole time.

007 quickly went forward, just in time to hear Tai An Ge announcing.

"Okay, now don't bother me with useless talking, everyone. Top-scorers get the prize!!"

Even more dissatisfied groans ensued...

"Lai Wei Ru!..." 007 gathered he said 'top-scorers', so 'more-than-one'??

A girl started squirming through the blocked human-traffic.

"Oh, this one - Xiao Xing Xing!!"

007 was relieved to hear such results.

"Excuse me, excuse me," a girl hit passed 007, nearly knocking him to the wall, if he had not stood firm enough.

"Alright, here you go...Where's the other winner?" Tai An Ge tried to catch a glimpse of the chatty Tian Mo Xing, but to no avail.

"I'll get that for her!" 007 moved carefully across to the counter on behalf.

"Okay, now, you see," Tai An Ge turned solemn. "There's a tie between the two highest marks, and I only have a pair of admission tickets. Thus, I have to split them equally between both..."

Handing them out, 007 now recalled about the Celine Rose Gardens which was last talked-about. Only now, silence could be sensed sweeping over the place once again.

However, a new issue was sparked. Someone stepped forward further, "Wait!! I disagree on this! I want the other half of the prize back! It's not like everyday when girls get to champion over guys, and the reward has to be shared unfairly in this way?!!"

007 recognised the girl instantly.

"Well, hello to you, this student, this is not what I was expecting either," Tai An Ge retorted.

The girl turned to 007 and smiled wryly, "Then, what if I say, I was the one who offered the extra test sheet to Li Xiao Xing?? Without my help, she wouldn't have participated..."

"Huh?" Tai An Ge wondered if he was the only one who find such excuse not in-tuned.

007 could not help it but raise up the Tian Mo Xing's test up intentionally for them to get a clear, unobstructed view.

"In what way does this 'unsmeared' photocopied sheet of paper appear to be one of your possessions?? It gives no clues of marks left by your doings whatsoever..."

Lai Wei Ru was caught by surprise as she saw what 007 was holding. No wonder Li Xiao Xing was not affected?

"So? Is the dispute settled??" Tai An Ge finally has his counter cleared of those countless papers.


	35. Chapter 35: Fit of Rage

In the cafeteria, Lai Wei Ru stormed out of her seat and indignantly went over to the table where 007 was.

The eye-tempting dessert before him was only causing all the more anger rising up furiously from within her. She hit the table strongly, "Zhan Shi De, don't think when you are quick enough to remove everything, that all this comes out fair enough!!"

He looked up at her, "That's just what you think...If you were not satisfied in the first place, why back out of the challenge today? This 'Frail's Castle' Parfait may just be yours, or you would like me to offer it generously to you at this moment??"

She was clearly offended and ignored him totally, rushing out of the place in quick hard footsteps.

007 only watched on quietly until she disappeared behind the door, without turning back.

Not long, Tian Mo Xing arrived, quickly spotting 007 not too far away from the door. She hurriedly rushed over to join him.

007 noted as she sat down opposite from him, "What's wrong? You don't look very alert?"

She moaned wearily, "Oh, it's just because of this..." Digging into her blazer's pocket, she took out from it her recovered bluetooth headset. Trying to wear it, she was disappointed, "Noisier than usual, I shouldn't have been so forgetful!" No matter how she adjusted it from different angles, it didn't feel right. She sighed, and the next thing she realised, 007 has reached out and his free hand had got hold of it.

Tian Mo Xing lifted her gaze at him...He offered, "Let me have a look?"

She allowed him and seconds later, a high-pitched screeching sound emanated from the headset, catching the attention from everyone in the cafeteria. It was terribly deafening that 007, Tian Mo Xing and all near them has to cover their ears for protection. When the sound finally died down, Tian Mo Xing was the one most shocked.

007 quickly switched off the tool and studied the thing curiously.


	36. Chapter 36: Reckless Handling

Inside the MIT clubroom, 007 has been checking Tian Mo Xing's headset for a while as 187 and her waited patiently for him. All were equally concerned.

Not long, 007 deduced, "The user detection sensor light shows more than 24 hours of usage without a single lapse..."

Tian Mo Xing was blur, "Huh? How come? I don't think that should be..."

He turned to her and explained, "When our headsets have been left unattended for a duration reaching close to 1/3 of the whole time, only then will the sensor be deactivated."

187 crossed his arms, switching to a thoughtful expression, "Hmmm...more than 24 hours means more than 8 hours the least...Tian Mo Xing, your memory shoudn't be that poor...How long have you lost touch with your headset? Should be less than half a day, is it?"

"Oh," Tian Mo Xing avoided their gaze. Trying to retrace events back in time was more than what she was capable of doing nowadays. How and when exactly did she drop her headset? This morning or the night before? She winced at the effort. Slowly and surely, jumbled-up scenes of flashbacks crowded every bit of her mind. What if she could not figure out? Can she be called as a deserving member of Pi Li MIT? Furthermore, it's not the first time she lost the headset.

007 suddenly broke the intense silence, "Seems like an additional connection has opened up?" He then went over to the computer, only to find out that both were not matching.

"Goodness," 187 muttered.

007 proceeded to check the inner parts of the headset, "Nothing is spoilt..."

187 was curious, "Hey, why is it that only Tian Mo Xing's headset affected and not ours?"

007 gave a second of thought and offered, "The deafening sound should be coming from the receiving end, which means Tian Mo Xing's headset or anyone else's amongst us must have been exposed to some immediate high frequency waves..."

187 snapped, "Then, don't ask me - mine caused me no problem, and Teacher Cherry's been to a meeting with the board of directors again."

007 realised too from what was shown in the computer, "Hers is switched off for quite some time already. That leaves with..."

"Come on, 747 is in class, and must be falling asleep listening to the teacher's lecture, and he's not awaken in any way," 187 said the obvious.

Both 007 and Tian Mo Xing fell into silent ponder.

"Tian Mo Xing," 187 reminded halfway through. "It appears clear now that something suspicious is firing through your gadget.."

Tian Mo Xing only looked up worriedly. 007 interrupted, "We just have to find out what's behind this first."

187 sighed, "I don't have to ask you, 007, before knowing that anything shared amongst us through each of our headsets will be captured along every connection. If undisclosed information is leaked out, who will be responsible?"

"Of course, we will take measures to not complicate things further," 007 retorted.

"Well, does that mean Tian Mo Xing should be extra careful from now on?" 187 sounded somewhat displeased.

"You're switching focus - the bottomline is to deal with this thing in my hand right now," 007 stood up from his seat and held up the headset before him.

"Yes, I'm not disagreeing - but what's important is that we ought to prevent another mistake like today's from happening!" 187 could not give in.

007 turned away from him, "You don't seem to understand...there's a possibility that electronic headsets can go beyond our limited control..."

"Whatever, say all you like," 187 did not see a purpose in uttering further and stormed out of the room to go for his next class. Tian Mo Xing and 007 only watched on helplessly.


	37. Chapter 37: Share of Support

Tian Mo Xing could only stare absent-mindedly at the unmoving headset on the table, switched off and unable to resume its duty.

On the other day, 007 was aware that they almost completely skipped breakfast after the incident at the cafeteria and so ordered a bowl of wonton noodles soup for Tian Mo Xing.

"It won't be healthy to go on with an empty stomach," 007 advised.

Tian Mo Xing sighed and lacked appetite, inadvertently catching the sight of something else from one side, "How come there's only a single admission ticket to Celine Rose Garden?"

007 thought fast before adding, "Oh...err...Tai An Ge accidentally lost the other ticket from the pair so that's all he can give you..."

Tian Mo Xing was disappointed much further and moaned that it would be of no use for her to go to the park alone. "I'm really in no game for luck these days," she rested her head on the table and felt like a totally useless person.

"The food infront of you is getting cold," 007 urged.

Tian Mo Xing re-gathered up her determination, sitting back up, "007, is there any way to help me recall about this headset?" She took his hands firmly and pleaded earnestly with him.

He set aside his crutch against the chair, "Li Xiao Xing, do you have confidence in yourself?"

She hesitated and only gazed at him questioningly.

He figured, "It's okay if you don't answer that..." Then, requesting her to relax, he assured as she still grasped onto his hands, "Now, close your eyes..."

She did so.

007 continued, "Try to picture something that particularly stands out over these past few days..."

Tian Mo Xing followed suit and attempted to expound silently on her inner perceptions, identifying blockages and imaginative hurdles along her thinking process. The inward journey was like punctured with cluttered conflicts and undefined boundaries, giving out haphazard outcomes. She tightened her grip.

He went on with attentive focus, "It might not be a discovery that will coincide with others' point of views...might be a fleeting glimpse of a little corner out of everyone's mindful concern, but whatever it is that you care for, anything that enlightens and retains impressions..."

Tian Mo Xing gave a light response of a nod.

"So, recollection comes up?" 007 inquired.

"I only know...and realise..." Tian Mo Xing confessed a little above a whisper.

'Anything that you can visualise," he encouraged.

Tian Mo Xing rubbed her eyes, "An appearance...I continuously bump into..."

007 listened on, eyes transfixed on her attempt.

"Never fails to defend for worthy causes...sharp-looking face...a pair of passionate eyes that spark off intelligence..."

He wondered about her descriptive bits and pieces...

"I would have ended up..." Tian Mo Xing slowly paused.

She then opened her eyes, "...physically distressed...but..." 007 noted what she has been implying as Tian Mo Xing lunged forward and hugged him close, "You've been there for me and the reason why you are bearing that crutch was all because of me..."

007 has realised what she has been holding onto dearly in her angelic heart, "You've always made known to me...unceasingly..."

"007, thank you for everything," she treasured his comforting embrace.


	38. Chapter 38: Further Follow Up

Miss Cherry put on a great smile upon meeting with Madam Chen, Yuan Lan Ying and her sister at the hospital, proudly affirming, "I have managed to convince those intimidating board of directors throughout the meeting a whole long hour ago!" Turning to Madam Chen, she elaborated, "There will be no problem if you should want to continue working at Sheng Ying and your compensation before and after actual retirement might increase following my presentation of a pending proposal..."

Everyone was utterly grateful that Miss Cherry felt really extremely accomplished. After expressing heartfelt appreciation and thanks, Yuan Lan Ying turned somewhat thoughtful and placed a hand on Miss Cherry's, showing concern, "How's Lu Ke Ying these days?"

"Lu Ke Ying?" Teacher Cherry was taken aback.

Yuan Lan Ying only nodded, "I knew him when he was still working on the games used to challenge Pi Li MIT..."

Teacher Cherry quickly sat closer and yearned to know more. Yuan Lan Ying continued, "Since I have completed my part, I think I can disclose now...We first met each other at Mastermind computer centre - Lu Ke Ying has to design his plans outside of Sheng Ying so he chose that location..."

Teacher Cherry now realised, "You knew these, but how was the beginning like?"

Yuan Lan Ying recalled, "On the day of our mother's birthday, we received a surprise cake and gift. The gift was a card reminding mother of her fast due resignation. At the back of it was printed "Mastermind Computer Centre" and its address. I went to find out and saw Lu Ke Ying in an agonised state. It's hard for me to have a clear talk with him, and only managed to figure out the only one of our common source of problem is Principal Tao. He said that he doesn't know for how long he can persist to put up with the challenge and so persuaded me to get my own solution by agreeing to follow up with Game 2. He helped me alot and saved a bunch of stuff and whatever program onto the CDs provided in the shop."

"So this is the story," Teacher Cherry learned much this moment.

Yuan Lan Ying advised further, "I'm glad someone like you, Teacher Cherry from Sheng Ying did not look down on us. To extend a little aid, I can only say that all the shop names supplied to your computer were tricked by the CD you all found - they are all fakes. Mastermind computer centre is only one store. So far, you can see that the people targetted are part of or related to Sheng Ying - Lu Ke Ying, me - on behalf of my mum. There is a thorough research going on behind this. It's either Sheng Ying against Sheng Ying or Sheng Ying for Sheng Ying..."

After getting to know whatever was revealed, Teacher Cherry quickly went over with Madam Chen to their home. Their computer has been left in a sleep mode ever since Yuan Lan Ying and her sister were admitted to hospital. Unfortunately, it crashed right after they got Yuan Lan Ying's own copy of her programmed CD out of the computer.

On her way back home, Teacher Cherry tried to roughly guess the location of Mastermind computer centre. Based on details the other MIT gang has furnished every once in a while, she courageously entered a store.

Inside, she was not astounded in any way and hurriedly approached the only person she could spot.

"Excuse me, I just want to know if you provide any computer service in here?" she asked well-manneredly.

The middle-aged man looked up, "Huh?"

"Oh, I'm not making myself clear enough? Actually, this Mastermind Computer Centre..." she tried to explain.

He soon stopped her and pointed out, "Miss, can't you see what I have?"

Teacher Cherry only looked around and about.

"This store is called 'Hotty Snacks Centre'...whatever other centre you've mentioned, is out of sense," he reprimanded and kept away some lists he was working on.

Teacher Cherry was outrightly embarrassed after being treated so poorly by such an unheeding shop attendant.


	39. Chapter 39: Devices Challenged

The next morning, Miss Cherry was extremely sour-faced when she presented Yuan Lan Ying's CD for everyone to discuss in the MIT clubroom. She had gotten so caught up with working on the Employee's Retirement Funding proposal all night that she has no time to deal with what Yuan Lan Ying generously offered. Leaning back against the comfortable chair she always loved, Miss Cherry ordered, "Everyone, I have lost so much of beauty sleep that I can't bear to participate in this quest..."

007 held up the CD, "Did Yuan Lan Ying say anything about this?"

Miss Cherry yawned, "Oh, about that...no, not anything that I can remember..."

747 went over to 007's side and looked closely, "Seems to me another familiar one in a series of CDs we have collected..."

"Really? We don't have much of Lu Ke Ying's ones though..." 187 reminded.

"Huh?" 747 turned blank.

"Oh, come on," Tian Mo Xing dismissed. "Whether we have or not, just be grateful!"

Teacher Cherry was having a hard time in keeping her eyes opened, "Okay, being a replacement principal is not easy...sorry, a nap is all I could hope for now...beloved MIT gang, I'll come back after noon, good luck!!" She got up and took her coat with her. Everyone encouraged her to have a long-awaited rest before she left the room.

007 quickly hurried over to the computer and was preparing to insert the CD when all of a sudden, he paused for a thought.

"What's wrong?" 747 inquired.

"It's the other CD that's also in the next drive," 007 considered. The outcomes of running both discs at the same time appeared hard to predict.

Down the hallway outside, Teacher Cherry was putting in great effort to be able to reach her office as fast as she could. Without warning, there came an interruption she dreaded most. Her phone sounded and she has to pick it up.

"Hello, Miss Tao...I just want to inform you that a considerable number of staff and students have already gathered at the Main Hall for a celebration function of the school team winning the Interschool Quiz yesterday. Everyone is expecting your presence to offer a congratulatory speech there in fifteen minutes' time!"

"Fifteen Minutes!!" Teacher Cherry practically yelled through the phone. "Oh My! Can't you stop making me rush like that?! Why do I always have to remind you to work ahead of time?! This is not the first time you have put me in a terribly tough situation...Being a responsible secretary should know basic time-management and....." She went on ranting without stop...

Back in the MIT room, 187 voluntarily stepped forth to join the rest who were all around the computer, clearing his throat, "Sorry, 007, if it's not all of us voting not to have the CD taken out, this computer would not have broke down..."

007 looked up at him, "It's alright, I understand..."

Tian Mo Xing was glad that 187 has managed to set aside their minor verbal conflict from the day before.

"Oh," 747 lamented. "Everything shuts off completely! Can we even try to recover the CDs now...or even one of them at least??"

007 sighed, "The main power is still on but the computer is not responding at all..."

"Now is it the CD problem or the interception by some weird online source?" 187 inquired.

"Perhaps, we could try figure out with this duplicate CD here," 007 showed them.

When they all realised what 007 had done, Tian Mo Xing exclaimed loud, "007, you really did that?!"

He confirmed, "The only things is I can't manage to copy Yuan Lan Ying's one to save the disappointment..."

Tian Mo Xing assured, "No one will blame you for that - we only got her CD barely more than a half-hour ago."

"That's right!" 187 agreed.

"But," 747 added. "007 has his point, what can we do with only one of them?"

187 only retorted, "Why bother so much doubts? Without testing, who would know the real culprit?"

Tian Mo Xing nodded, "I see that, but the computer is not working now..."

007 has an idea, "So...but the last time, Teacher Cherry had her database crashed."

Tian Mo Xing understood what he was hinting at, "That's before we got the case solved...What if this time, we will be rewarded with better clues?"

007 pondered from various angles, attempting to figure out the necessity of actions to be taken and the setbacks of precautions. When he attempted to unplug the ethernet cable, Tian Mo Xing saw the CD pocket and some strip of note falling out of it.

It read, "Common Goals Met..."

007 noted, "That's a mere quick few-second-long scribble..."

When successfully sneaking out halfway through the function after her super-brief speech was reluctantly given, Teacher Cherry was most regretful at this point ever since taking up her current post, muttering under her breath of what a disgrace she has been at carelessly spilling red wine off the refreshments table and wetting her much-loved coat. Sighing deeply, she took out her cellphone and called her secretary to ask if she has finished typing out the proposal.


	40. Chapter 40: Required Persistence

Teacher Cherry and the gang gathered back at her office since the computer in the MIT room was not working. 007 took out the duplicate CD and passed it on to Teacher Cherry who then inserted it into the drive. Everyone anticipated curiously of what the respond will be. Then, after the sound of the CD running, the image of a rapidly fast-ticking clock appeared, its hand moving furiously backwards until when it finally stopped, there was a loud deafening sound effect. The sudden soaring of the volume forced almost all of them to cover their ears and retreating back.

When the computer quieten down after some seconds, a number of pop-up windows filled the screen one after another.

Teacher Cherry moved the mouse, "Just what are all these?!"

"When did the Dutch referendum on the European Constitution result in its rejection," 007 read quickly on one of them. Moving swiftly on to the next, he skimmed through, "When did Sun Microsystems announce it will purchase Storage Technology Corporation for US$4.1 billion?"

Tian Mo Xing found this a bit over the top, "What exactly is it testing, history or some other subject??"

"When did Apple Computer CEO Steve Jobs announce that Apple will be switching from Power PC Architecture to Intel CPUs?" 007 continued. "When was Donald Tsang Yam Kuen appointed by PRC to take over Tung Chee Hwa as Chief Executive of HKSAR?"

"Ah, this one at least sound reasonable..." 187 remarked.

"When was the Dominican Republic - Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) passed by the United States?" 007 noted a text box appearing.

Teacher Cherry turned to him, "007, seems like its really requesting for an answer..."

He merely typed in, "They're all the same - the year 2005..."

"All the Best!!" The computer status at last returned back to normal...

Teacher Cherry moaned, "Why does it have to do with that year again?!"

"Wait, there might be another link between the dates on which those events occurred," 007 tried to think hard.

Tian Mo Xing went forward to their side, "Then, what is it??"

007 could not help it, "I can't be totally sure yet...need to refer to the sources..."

187 was not liking every bit of this kind of insensible clue-revealing method, "Don't say that we're being pushed into another case back in time again...Whatever that's behind this must be thinking we've had too much of a break already!"

747 pondered a moment and added, "But, but...how about that poor computer in the clubroom??"

Teacher Cherry was being reminded thus, "Oh, and Yuan Lan Ying's too! My, I agree with 187, some weirdo must be thinking I've got tonnes of spare time in my hands..."

007 understood the complications of the situation, "What happened to that computer is really unexpected..."

Teacher Cherry's face abruptly lit up at the following instant, "Hey, now something got my brain working...It should be time to get that irresponsible technician!" The rest also turned optimistic as Teacher Cherry quickly grabbed the phone's receiver and starting calling. While she was at it, 007 did a check on the incoming and outgoing IP logs.

Teacher Cherry could only waited at the long ringing tone until she could not hold onto her patience any longer. "Goodness!" Her temper flared right after she left a voice message, "I'm not gonna care if your inbox burst or the limit exceeded, as long as I get a decent reply from you!" She then asked Tian Mo Xing to hand her the cellphone as she carried on calling with the desktop phone.

"Miss Cherry, let me help you with the text messaging!" Tian Mo Xing helpfully suggested.

Meanwhile, 007 has found something, "There's one new address that's based in the US and another..."

"Another what?" 187 questioned.

"A proxy - which is worth finding more about," he offered.

Teacher Cherry stopped whast she was doing, "US...And dad, Teacher Angel and Lu Ke Ying are now still there..." Tian Mo Xing and her momentarily felt a pang of guilt out of not contacting them over the past few days.

In her thoughts, Teacher Cherry's attention was suddenly drawn to the view through the opened blind before the window she was facing, "Strange, did the function last that long? Delivery guy still serving us?" She saw a uniformed person on the ground floor walking towards the school building.

"What delivery guy, Miss Cherry?" 747 inquired eagerly.

Teacher Cherry explained, "The function we had did not order anything from the cafeteria this time and I wasn't in the mood to try out those food and drinks they got either..."

Tian Mo Xing wondered, "Then, Tai An Ge will be..."

007 interrupted, "I can't locate the exact place of the foreign IP. The online service is undergoing routine maintenance..." After tracing to what was on the disc, he only discovered that it worked by only a single independent executable file.

"007," Tian Mo Xing assured. "Try wait and see then, time might not be that ruthless afterall..."


	41. Chapter 41: Against Time

Danson took leave of the function and heading out of the hall, he took out his cellphone and made a call.

"Hello? It's you, Danson??" the person on the other end of the line sounded quite surprised and happy.

He smiled, "Yes...How are you, Lan Ying?? Just want to let you know that it should be about time that I visit you today..."

"Oh," she was even more glad. "I would love to see you...it's been a while!"

"So, meet you then!" he added and not long, they agreed on the time before hanging up.

Turning a corner by the doorway, someone nearly knocked into him had he not been extra careful. Danson then noticed the person bringing a whole new carton of red wine while rushing into the area.

On the other hand, 007, Tian Mo Xing, 187 and 747 were all in the library archives section to search for necessary relevant articles.

747 set down the bunch of papers in his hand and wishing half-heartedly that they could put a stop to this, "Oh dear, dear all of you...You see these countless newspaper publishers in this country, not to mention foreign ones which are even more...We have to go through these...Liberty Daily, Apple Herald, Taipei Times, The Alliance Circle,..."

187 quickly stood up and placed even more of his publications on top of 747 ones, "Codename 747, which airline company are you actually representing? The process of research is all about putting effort, spending time and, 'less complaints'..." Turning to the other two, he continued, "The only main struggle is not about the numerous publishing sources - it's that digging out news after news without a focus of a clear theme..."

007 knew this issue will be brought up, "Since our dependable clue has to do with an overseas connection, we just have to chase against time and try to single out articles that make references to the US in a sort of way..."

Tian Mo Xing sighed deeply, "But it's definitely not easy though..." She just rested her chin tiredly on the table to relieve a bit of the sense of urgency. Then, her weak gaze unknowingly rested on one of the bottom of heaps of papers, "U..."

747 looked up instantly since she was facing his side, "Me?? Tian Mo Xing..."

She finished, "S...US!!" Sitting up alert, she fished out the article and read as the others gathered around her, "The acclaimed US company - Impact Systems Inc. looked up to the dedicated staff at Sheng Ying School and has high hopes of them possibly joining the company..."

"Period??" 187 stressed the end of the only sentence which has their school's name mentioned.

They hurriedly made used of another hour searching for more related articles. Sadly, they were not successful. 007 then went over to the computer workstations and looked up online information about the Impact Systems company.

"It has closed down earlier this year," he noted.

"A coincidence??" 187 remarked in suspicion.

"Ought to search for an accurate date," 007 decided. They also went on to look up a series of yearbooks listing down the staff members of Sheng Ying.

Meanwhile, Teacher Cherry was in her office proofreading the proposal typed out by her secretary, once in a while muttering under her breath of why the latter was not willing to help her with such trivial matter. Soon, her muscles started aching a great deal that she has to sit back and rest. Thinking about what the gang and her had discovered some time ago, she couldn't help letting her mind run wild on what kind of case they would have to handle next. Not long, she realised how much she hated procrastinating and got up to start NetMeeting on the computer to see if her father is active online.

"Yes!!" she yelped after seeing his ID flashing.

The screen opened with Principal Tao sitting before the computer. Miss Cherry quickly asked, "Dad, how come you're not asleep??"

He sighed, "I'm online searching for our next available accomodation closer to the hospital. Ke Ying's length of therapy has to be extended as the current method does not prove to be making any progress on his mental state."

"Really?" Teacher Cherry's face also fell into disappointment.

Principal Tao continued, "We have tried to seek better understanding on the figures and diagrams he has drawn but they are all inclined to tell more or less the same meaning and nothing new for the past weeks..."

"Is there any way we can help out from here?" Teacher Cherry asked with concern.

Principal Tao was at first silent, then added, "People said when your own children fell down and hurt themselves, your first reaction would be to help them back up on their feet again...As for Ke Ying, this time he fell, and self-pity overtook him,...because as he turned about and looked back, he saw...the cause of his fall was because of me...I and my ignorance has been his stumbling block - the reason of him being hurt so greatly..."

Although the webcam was not clear, Teacher Cherry could figure the shining wetness in his eyes, "Dad..."

"I'm sorry, Xiao Tao, to you and your mom, everyone has been hurt by me..." Principal Tao finally confessed.

"Dad, don't be sad," Teacher Cherry tried to consoled but the next second, she was being distracted by her phone.

An incoming text message read, "Miss Cherry, this is the Care Centre...Mrs Tao is now waiting for you at a place which she mentioned to be a significant part of your childhood days..."


	42. Chapter 42: Revisitation

"Weird, significant place of my childhood," Teacher grew all the more confused the more she tried to think and drive through various places. She then informed her secretary that she had gotten an urgent errand from the care centre and needed to rush somewhere. Without giving further details, she hung up before her secretary could ask further and pulled to a stop.

She was about to call the care centre again when she received a new text message, "My dear, where were you when you first had your schooling??"

Teacher Cherry sighed and nearly wanted to knock herself hard, "Sheng Ying's kindergarten!! Mum, wait for me!!" She started the car again.

As Teacher Cherry has expected, the part of the school was already isolated by now for the new Sheng Ying kindergarten had already moved to a location quite a number of blocks away. When she has reached there, the long-abandoned area did not trigger any feeling of nostalgia. Instead, the run-down building which has been vacated for over ten years gave her the unlikely urge to want to leave. However, what could be more important than being an obedient girl in MrsTao's eyes.

Slowly, she found the direction towards the classroom where she could remember with the most ease. Glancing about and fighting back doubts, she carefully stepped in. It was dark and thoroughly stuffy, as she bravely entered. Pushing the door back, though only weak streams of light penetrated through the old, blurry windows, Teacher Cherry thought she saw something familiar.

There was a tall pile of boxes not far before her and she managed to spot stuck and hanging from in between the topmost ones a bright scarf which she has left behind somewhere. Teacher Cherry gasped and instinctively leaped up to grab hold of it. She fell back and before she could regain her balance and realised, the dropping boxes set a trigger which threw back against the creaky door and shut it loud in the process.

Teacher Cherry tripped backwards due to the force on the door and landed on the floor, hurting her ankle.

"Goodness!" she muttered under her breath upon admitting her own silliness just to take back a mere piece of dusty scarf. She struggled to get up, cautioning herself not to sprain her painful ankle again, only to know the moment she turned the doorknob, that it was locked, to her fear.

Teacher Cherry was about to shout for help, though she was aware that it would not be the best strategy, when there was an incoming text message to her cellphone. She hurriedly opened and read, "Still remember how your dad treated us??"

Teacher Cherry moaned, "Mum, since when did you catch this habit of texting me? Where are you?" She looked about and felt even more strange and then, also afraid of this whole thing.

Turning back around, she was even more startled of a notice pasted on the door and written, "Be good, Mum wants to know if you're still my good child..."

Teacher Cherry now turned to be shocked, and her emotions added greater effect on her miserable ankle that she found it hard to stand on her own feet. She slid down onto the floor and against the door, her mind and heart rushing wildly in the midst of the slowly air-deprived room.

She tried to search for signs of Mrs Tao even through her muzzy vision of the poorly-lit room, but it was nearly an impossible task. Then, her gaze fell on something even more striking. Teacher Cherry recognised a bouquet of carnation she had last given to her mother on Mother's Day and to her fright, it was spoiled with each dried stalk of flower spread over randomly on a wooden desk covered with thick spider webs before her own eyes.

"Just what's happening??" Teacher Cherry could barely manage to whisper when her cellphone received another message.

"Tell it, girl...Tell it all out to me again, all the hurts your father had caused us without mercy," it said.

Teacher Cherry coughed hard, "Mum, I know...I know....."

Meanwhile, Tian Mo Xing ventured to the school's cafeteria and called out to the day-dreaming Tai An Ge who appeared pretty free sitting by the counter. She also noted that there was less people in the restaurant today.

"Tian Mo Xing, so early??" he asked curiously.

She nodded, "I would like a tiramisu, a tuna salad, mango pudding, cheese and egg sandwich as well as custard tart!!"

"Huh?" Tai An Ge thought his ears were playing tricks on him. "Why so much? All you said were not today's low-priced items!"

"I know, but it's alright," Tian Mo Xing snapped.

By the doorway, 007 already saw it all and knew Tian Mo Xing had decided earlier to help out Tai An Ge. So was this the working of their heart-to-heart connection??

He went over to join them, "I would like to have a doubled-portion of each of Tian Mo Xing's orders..."

Tai An Ge was even more taken aback.

Tian Mo Xing cried, "007, why here? Aren't you supposed to be at the library, you haven't fully recovered!"

He smiled, "How can I let my girlfriend help someone alone all by herself?"

"Oh," Tian Mo Xing could not stop herself from feeling touched.

Another familiar clearing of throat by some person approaching from the doorway interrupted their moments and they also saw 187 and 747.

"These two lovebirds are leaving us poor people out again...Hey, Tai An Ge, give me also double orders of each of your top 10 most expensive items!" 187 offered.

"What?!" 747 stared wide-mouthed at him and started mentally calculating his remaining allowances when 187 pulled him aside.

"Don't say that I am not being good," he added and then turning back to Tai An Ge, 187 ordered another equal share that he would also pay for 747 too.


	43. Chapter 43: Surplus to Collect

Tai An Ge felt extremely pleased and announced, "Okay everyone, the challenge for today is cancelled!! I'll offer the reward free for you people!"

The four of them have gleam of delight in their eyes upon hearing so. Tian Mo Xing grabbed Tai An Ge's hands tight and squealed out loud, "So happy Tai An Ge, I really appreciate you!!"

"Not so fast!!" an indignant voice called out from behind and rushing up to Tian Mo Xing, shoved her aside. Had 007 not hold onto her, she would have tripped over.

"Hey, just who are you?" 187 stepped forward with an annoyed look.

She smirked, "Hmmm, since Li Xiao Xing can be so generous, why not bet on hers and my admission tickets as the prize for a challenge between us both to settle the conflict?"

007 was tired of her persistence, "Lai Wei Ru, I don't think this will be fair in any way!"

"Wait!" Tian Mo Xing was starting to find it strange. "What admission tickets? Is hers the one for Celine Rose Gardens??"

Tai An Ge butted in to explain the whole matter behind Lai Wei Ru's dissatisfaction to her.

"Well, I just don't understand why someone like you will always try to act innocent and know nothing," Lai Wei Ru added another crude remark against Tian Mo Xing and turned about to face the rest of the students in the cafeteria. "I'm sure most of you have heard...May I just put forth a request? For those of you who agreed with my suggestion for today's worthwhile challenge, please raise a hand!"

Tian Mo Xing watched on pathetically. As they waited to anticipate what kind of response, the people before them lifted up their hands one by one.

Lai Wei Ru saw with overwhelmed contentment while Tian Mo Xing found the situation tough to handle. She slid a hand into her pocket.

"Did you see that, Li Xiao Xing?" Lai Wei Ru shot an amused gaze at her.

Tian Mo Xing decided, "Okay, I quit playing this game..." She surrendered her own ticket and ran out, with the other three guys following after her.

Lai Wei Ru gave a wry smile seeing the easily-defeated girl chose the escape path instead of fighting back.

Back in the MIT room, Tian Mo Xing was silent for quite a time, until 007 went up to her and interrupted by asking the likely question.

"007," she added. "I'm like any girl who would step back and call off the dispute when the crowd opposes..."

He reached forth to her hand, "But you do mind about the admission ticket..."

She sighed before looking up at the plain ceiling and then back at him again, with a soft smile, "What makes me happy out of this situation is the way you dishonestly consoled me earlier about the presumably 'lost' ticket from the pair..."

007 was glad to see the loveliness returning to her face once again, "Sorry, Li Xiao Xing..."

Tian Mo Xing shook her head, "Why say so? Celine Rose Gardens...I already have a certain preview of it played-out in my heart and mind for some time..."

007 turned a bit curious, "Really??"

A knock on the door averted their attention as 187 and 747 entered the room. "Okay, time's up...we can't wait on the side any longer!"

They put all those food bought onto the table and 747 quickly took out his phone to call Teacher Cherry.

"Wow, what a feast! This tiramisu just seems so perfect for Miss Cherry!" Tian Mo Xing expressed with glee.

"Hey, weird..." 747 tried to call again.

"What's wrong?" 187 inquired.

"No answer," 747 returned. "Didn't she say that she will be in the office?"

"Then, why not 007 and I go look for Miss Cherry?" 187 suggested.

"Okay! We'll wait for you guys," Tian Mo Xing agreed right away.

The two of them then left while 747 and Tian Mo Xing looked after the tempting food. It appeared to be a task much harder than a hungry 747 and breakfast-skipping Tian Mo Xing originally thought. Both could not resist setting their eyes away from the mouth-watering desserts and snacks strewn over every corner of the big table.

Reaching the principal's office, 007 and 187 were surprised to find that Miss Cherry's secretary was also looking for her. Numerous calls to her cellphone were not answered.

007 attempted a call on the spot and the result confirmed the secretary's words.

"Just where is Miss Cherry now?!" 187 sensed unwanted premonition.

"She only said that she has received an errand from the care centre and hung up. Goodness, there are a bunch of documents waiting to be signed," the secretary complained.

"Then can you give me the care centre's number?" 007 asked of her.

"Oh well," she started looking up. "I called them too and was told that they did not see Miss Cherry today..."

When she finally told 007 the number, he quickly phoned the place and requested to speak with Mrs Tao. However, it was not quite successful.

"I'm sorry, Mrs Tao has gone out to the gardens to relax herself. She is not in the state of a good mood to talk to anyone except a closely-related person like her daughter..."

Over in the MIT room, 747 and Tian Mo Xing were staring weakly at what was laid before them and sighed.

"A long wait..." they moaned together.

An abrupt bright idea suddenly flashed across 747's dreamy mind, "Yes! Tian Mo Xing, I know what we should do!"

She turned to him, "Huh?"

He sat up, "You see, instead of sacrificing our strong appetite, I thought of this...I passed by the staff office building this morning and overheard a teacher mentioned that one of her kindergarten students is going to have a big birthday party celebration today...Why not offer them a treat?"

Tian Mo Xing's face lit up, "Oh, not bad...I see that we have more than enough for the four of us plus Teacher Cherry..."

"Let's go then!" 747 urged. The two of them swiftly packed half of all share of the food to take along with them.


	44. Chapter 44: In Dire Search

007 attempted another call to Teacher Cherry's cellphone but there was still no answer. He then pressed 187 to continue dialing her number while he tried to contact the care centre again.

"Hello, Care Centre?? Can you allow a case of an exception for me to talk to Mrs Tao??" he pleaded.

The centre's staff on the line sighed aloud, "How many times have I told you that Mrs Tao is a priviledged resident here and we are to remain at all times, to comply with her wishes? I can only pass a message on your behalf, that's the most I can do..."

007 could not help it, "Okay thanks, please tell Mrs Tao that Miss Cherry is required to see a person, who is..."

On the other hand, 747 and Tian Mo Xing were now headed to the kindergarten block.

"Hey Tian Mo Xing, I can imagine now the surprised and overjoyed faces of those children the instant they saw what we have in store for them!" 747 beamed with utmost pride.

Tian Mo Xing only frowned as she surveyed about, "747, are you sure we have come the right way??"

"So her?" the care centre's staff wanted to make sure.

"Yes," 007 confirmed on the line.

After hanging up, 007 was aware that 187 had not achieved any results. He continued calling again as they hurried on their way back to the MIT room.

Along a less conspicuous area of the school, 747 was trying to sound as convincing as possible, "Tian Mo Xing, I remember we passed by a sign pointing the way here as leading to the kindergarten block..."

Tian Mo Xing eyed him sceptically, "Really?? How come I don't??"

747 persuaded despite he himself was also starting to feel unsure, "That's because,...errr...I did not mention..." He smiled feeling a little silly at the same time.

"It's through!!" 007 uttered and listened closely as the call sounded to have been picked up.

"Really?!" 187 sensed relief.

"Hello?"

"Teacher Cherry!!" both 007 and 187 finally heard her voice, apparently much weaker than usual. "Where are yo--...?" Before they could ask her whereabouts, she cut back on their urgent question.

"Mum, I know that recalling all these painful memories has turned into your constant nightmares, but dad just told me today - he's sorry..."

"What?" 187 found it strange.

"After all I said, I know it's difficult,...it's difficult...Can we try together??" Teacher Cherry coughed hard.

"Miss Cherry, can you hear us?!!" 187 cried. He then grabbed 007 impatiently, "She's obviously not alright!!"

007 hasten him to calm down, "Let's check the location of her bluetooth!"

As for 747 and Tian Mo Xing, they were still trying hard to decide between themselves of whether to carry out their plan to completion.

747 suddenly thought, "Right, Tian Mo Xing, did you leave a note of where we're going for 007 and 187??"

"Huh?" she pondered and then gasped.

Back in the MIT room, 007 was scanning through the location plans on the computer screen furiously. All the while, he could only hear Miss Cherry persuading without stop through his handphone.

"How is it??" 187 has been repeating to him the same question countless times on the other side.

007 faced the enemy of hope, "Her headset is off...Teacher Cherry can be heard to be involved in a one-person dialogue the whole time...She might not be with Mrs Tao who insisted on talking with Teacher Cherry as the care centre told..."

"Then, where could she...?" 187 was interrupted mid-way by his bluetooth. "747, what again?!"

"Mum...," Teacher Cherry could barely keep her tear-filled eyes open as her head continued to spin uncontrollably. The supply of air slowly but surely being depleted through the tightly-shut door and windows in an undusted classroom was intensifying its effect on her.

"Oh 187," 747 returned. "Well, actually I just want to let you guys know that Tian Mo Xing and I could be now at the kindergarten block as I probably presumed..."

"What rubbish," 187 fumed. "In a crucial time like this, why are you both there for?!"

"Weird now, still no noise of the kids?" Tian Mo Xing reached the kindergarten classrooms and found the place creepy. "Oopps!!" she cried out while accidentally dropping one of the containers of food and splattered them all over the ground.

Inside, Teacher Cherry was suddenly regaining her senses, "Tian Mo Xing..."

007 heard Teacher Cherry's whisper and then her audible attempt to knock onto the door behind her.

Tian Mo Xing was momentarily startled by what sounded to be more-than-familiar.

"Tian Mo Xing, what's wrong??" 747 raced to her side, however, to the extent that it became unfortunate. "Ahhh!!" he slipped and fell down due to the slippery dirt-covered path.

007 quickly told 747 and Tian Mo Xing to not leave where they were and that he and 187 would catch up with them real soon. He concluded that Teacher Cherry must be nearby.


	45. Chapter 45: Aftermath

When Teacher Cherry finally awoke in the hospital, she was thoroughly relieved but also extremely sober at the same time.

"Miss Cherry, are you okay??" 747 was the first to ask with concern.

Teacher Cherry still felt the aftereffects of her head spinning a bit and Tian Mo Xing quickly helped her sat up slightly.

"Miss Cherry, are you dizzy or encountering any discomfort??" 187 inquired.

"Miss Cherry, do you know that you fell into unconsciousness while in the kindergarten classroom?" 007 reminded.

"Miss Cherry, you look quite pale, need me to get you a glass of water??" Tian Mo Xing suggested.

Miss Cherry found it difficult for herself to handle so many questions at once and only rubbed her aching temples quietly.

The rest of them seemed to catch her non-verbal implication. They waited for her to feel better as Tian Mo Xing went over to a corner to pour Miss Cherry a drink.

She spoke at last after a whole minute, "Did you all rescue me??"

They all nodded earnestly.

Miss Cherry let herself rested more against the cushioned back of the patient bed, trying hard to surmount all undesirable recall of the day's earlier happenings, "I guess you all must be tired now, why not go back to your dorm first?"

"But, Miss Cherry, you were..." 747 was cut back halfway by 007's nudge.

Teacher Cherry only added further, "I'm too weak to talk about anything now...Don't worry, I can manage by myself here..."

"Are you sure that you can, Teacher Cherry??" 187 was worried about her.

She nodded. They all appeared to get her message.

Tian Mo Xing handed her the glass of warm water, "Okay then...But Sis, we brought some food here and there on the table, is your favourite kind of tiramisu...Remember to take some food when you're hungry. The nurse and doctor will be here any minute now..."

Teacher Cherry were aware that they cared for her and thanked them before leaving.

Once outside, 747 was still feeling a little unsettled as to letting Teacher Cherry remained alone by herself in the hospital, "Hey, are you all sure it's best to agree with Teacher Cherry's request??"

Tian Mo Xing turned about to give another look at the closed door of the ward, "I wouldn't want to, but...."

"She seemed to feel a lot of a burden from our presence," 007 added.

187 suddenly thought of something, "Oh yes, why don't you all go ahead? I need to see someone...Bye for now!" He bade and went the other opposite way.

"This 187, how could he?? Must be whichever of his babes happen to be in this hospital requiring his urgent attention," 747 simply could not stand his attitude.

007 also noticed, "The cafeteria is just around the corner..."

"You're that hungry..." 747 looked at his watch.

"We'll go together!" Tian Mo Xing proposed.

They proceeded and 007 told that he would like to get something. This left 747 and Tian Mo Xing to decide for themselves on the choices of the menu while they waited for him.

Seeing Tian Mo Xing apparently not in a great mood, 747 took the opportunity to help liven up the atmosphere. "Hey Tian Mo Xing, you must be hungry...look at this dish, it's even better than our school's cafeteria..." he pointed out.

Tian Mo Xing turned to him, "I'm not...all those food we've gotten this morning are just as tasty..."

"Oh," 747 wondered what else should be said next. Just then, his cellphone rang.

"Why don't you answer it?" Tian Mo Xing urged. "Could be Teacher Cherry, who knows??"

747 hesitated but picked up later nonetheless.

"Hello? Is that Huang Hui Hong? This is Sheng Ying's administration department calling. We have some issues with your late school fees payment..."

747 just felt like cursing himself this very second. Just when Tian Mo Xing and him could be together without 007 around, bad luck came chasing after him. He excused himself and went to a corner to continue with the conversation.

As Tian Mo Xing waited, she recapped the day's events. It has been a hugely emotional and physical ordeal that they went through. She could empathised with Teacher Cherry's feelings. One ought to rest a fair bit before analysing the whole situation.

"Yes...yes...so I have clarified everything for you, right? Okay, thank you," 747 hung up and hurriedly rush to get back to Tian Mo Xing. Sadly, he found that she was already nowhere to be seen.

Walking out of the building, Tian Mo Xing was as careful as ever to offer a hand to 007 whenever possible since he was still using the crutch.

"It's okay, I have recovered considerably," he said.

Tian Mo Xing knew this was all to lessen her worries, "We've done alot today...Let's take a seat on that bench and have a rest..." She quickly led him over.

When they have sat down, 007 took out the bottle of strawberry milk he had bought for her earlier, "Here, it should be still warm..."

As he placed the drink onto her hand, Tian Mo Xing did not know for how many times she was touched by his gesture during significant moments like this, noting the strawberry milk was all he has gotten from a while ago. She uttered softly a word of thanks to him, feeling it rather trivial compared to all the efforts he made for everyone.

"Tired??" he questioned, watching her downcast face.

She managed an ambiguous smile and then shifted a little to look up at the night sky above them.

007 followed her gaze.

She began, "I once came across a quote..."

"What quote?" he returned.

"That," she could not help admiring the towering expanse of the heavens up there. "What are the two most romantic manifestations from the sky..."

007 turned to her.

Tian Mo Xing, with a mesmerised expression, said, "the rain, and shooting stars...But, it's a fine weather this evening and not a single star is shining..."

He smiled, "There may be no shooting star, but you still have an all-time guardian star..."

She wondered, "Huh?"

007 then took out from his pocket and gave her his own bluetooth headset, "You can use this while we carry on to investigate the problem with yours."

"But, how can I? Don't you need this??" Tian Mo Xing was concerned.

He explained, "I still have my handphone...Should you want to reach me through my bluetooth right away, just play the music from the locket I gave you before speaking and it will take no longer than half a minute before the connection I have especially set will be activated."

"007," Tian Mo Xing was unsure if saying thanks again should be her only response so she simply hugged him.

As she rested against his shoulder, 007 knew she was more than grateful. Having her close by his side called for a sense of indescribable gladness. He added, "Less than two months prior to the obscure publishing company's formation, Celeste Press' latest release: The Multi-Faceted Garden, has concluded its only batch of distribution to the school's dormitory bookstore..."

"Oh yes," Tian Mo Xing was reminded now about the book she recently got and that she has nearly forgotten all about it. "Sorry 007, the book is not with me...Next time I'll remember better..." She silently moaned of how she could be so forgetful again.

"Li Xiao Xing," 007 called.

"What's that?" she asked.

"Next time you realise yourself forgetting something again, don't blame yourself," he said.

"Oh, really?...Wait a minute!" She quickly got up and was freaking out, "My goodness...I shouldn't have sat on this side...your wounds must still be hurting alot now...I was leaning against you! Sorry 007!! How are you feeling now?? Painful?? Oh dear!!"

Before she rambled on, 007 stopped her and pulled Tian Mo Xing back towards himself. Before she started getting all worried again, he closed the distance between them and let his lips rested against her soft ones.

This successfully caused quieten Tian Mo Xing as time stood still once more.

When they pulled apart, 007 told the blushing girl, "Don't worry, Li Xiao Xing...it doesn't hurt at all now...Remember, even though Principal Tao, Teacher Angel, your brother or Ah Mu may not always be next to you, don't forget we still have our hearts' connection, you still have me..."

She nodded, "Thank you, 007, for making me feel so appreciated in Sheng Ying at a time like this - my guardian star..." She then kissed him back.

Farther away behind a hidden corner, someone in Sheng Ying's uniform was watching them both.


	46. Chapter 46: Closer Study

The next morning, 007 went to the MIT counselling room early. No one was insight except that he saw on the table, two bowls of freshly-prepared porridge in a plastic bag. By the side was attached a piece of note stating one of them was for Teacher Cherry and the other for he himself. It was left by Tian Mo Xing. She also requested for his help to bring the porridge to the hospital on her behalf. 007 only wondered more of where she has gone to.

On the other hand, arriving at the front steps of the care centre was none other than Tian Mo Xing. She proceeded courageously into the building and approached the staff. After some waiting, she was granted a rare permission but also told that even though Mrs Tao agreed to see her, she may not speak a single word to some student she has never met before.

Upon entering the room and saw the lady seated on a wheelchair but with her back facing her, she calmed herself and spoke briefly, "Mrs Tao, I know it is the result of much consideration that you are finally willing to see me...But as I said, I won't take up alot of your time..."

As expected, there was only a silent response and Mrs Tao did not give her a single look.

Tian Mo Xing continued, "I just want to say, although you might not like what I have done, I can only apologise with a word of 'sorry'...And this is to both you and Miss Cherry...That's all...Goodbye!" With that, she quicken her footsteps and ran out.

After a whole second, Mrs Tao turned about, only to see that the door was left ajar.

007 took with him the porridge for Miss Cherry and stopped by the old Sheng Ying kindergarten block. He wandered closer and noted the sign showing the way was especially clear and clean, displaying a stark contrast from the immediate dusty and littered surroundings. He simply wanted to find out more.

On her way back to the school, Tian Mo Xing's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by her cellphone's alert of a text message. She stopped in her track to open it and read. Then, se could not help feeling a little annoyed, "Just what kind of a question is that?!"

007 now stood before the classroom where Miss Cherry was locked in the previous day. Upon further inspection on the old worn door, he began to suspect about the way it seemed different. It could be easily opened without a suitable key from the outside, like what they did to rescue Teacher Cherry, and then easily loking itself on the inside. This must have been manipulated to work in the opposite fashion from ordinary doors.

Meanwhile, Tian Mo Xing showed up at a place offering usage of computer workstations. She impatiently signed in and grabbed a spot. When the computer soon started up, she opened up the browser and after some pondering, she went on to type some words, looking quite disheartened.


	47. Chapter 47: Early Duties

"Just what's the meaning of this?!" Teacher Cherry cried out loud with indignation. She was pretty much infuriated by the long order slip of many times more delivery of red wine to the school. Her secretary, Sandy, apologised and gave the excuse that she has no idea why it was so.

"Miss Cherry, the catering service explained that it was only trying to fulfill an automated request by our school and they only did as was instructed."

Teacher Cherry could not help it as she strived for self-control to stop her temper from flaring again. Resigning to her conscientious effort to keep her cool and safeguard herself from the dizzy spell she had managed with much difficulty to recover from after a long night's rest, she merely signed her name for approval on the slip in a flash and returned it to Sandy.

Keeping all the documents afer having gone through each of them painstakingly with Miss Cherry, the secretary could now breathe a sigh of relief, "If there's nothing else, I'll leave now and rush back to Sheng Ying..."

A knock was heard from the door and they turned to see 007 standing not far away.

Teacher Cherry then allowed Sandy to go back to the school.

"Teacher, you must have not taken your breakfast yet, right?" 007 entered and placed the porridge he had brought onto the table.

Miss Cherry sighed, "007, so early today??" The room soon smelled strongly of a fresh delicious morning meal.

"Miss Cherry is also placing much importance on school matters. You're up early too, as a patient," 007 remarked as he opened the lid of the container.

"007, thank you," she expressed gratefully.

He added, "I can accept that on behalf of someone who worked hard to prepare this for you..."

"Huh?" she turned curious.

"She's Tian Mo Xing..." he disclosed.

"Oh," Miss Cherry realised how she took so much for granted.

"And she's also the first one amongst us to have saved you yesterday," 007 told further.

She was about to help herself to the nutritious chicken porridge when she suddenly became thoughtful and set down the spoon.

007 reminded, "Miss Cherry, I'm not sure if you're treating the previous day's ordeal with the same degree of suspicion as the rest of us, but we do care for your safety..."

She looked up at him, "007,..."

A nurse soon hurried in and informed that Teacher Cherry can be discharged any time as confirmed by the doctor.

Teacher Cherry instantly brightened up and exclaimed, "Finally the moment I've been waiting for!!" She then pleaded with 007, "Before I can be sure of anything, can you please help get me some coffee? And make it quick too..."

007 repeated, "Coffee??"

Miss Cherry nodded eagerly.


	48. Chapter 48: On the Run

When 007 was back at Sheng Ying, his cellphone coincidentally received the alerting musical tone. He answered, "Tian Mo Xing..."

"007...," she returned.

He asked again, "Is there anything??"

There was a slight pause before she hesitantly replied, "Oh nothing, just testing our telepathic link..."

He sensed some ambiguity, "Really?"

"Err...well, where are you now? I got the book with me already, do you remember?" she added.

He smiled, "Yes, I do...we'll meet by the staircase in front of the Central Hall."

"Okay," she agreed.

Having returned to the school already, Miss Cherry tried not to give herself too much pressure and has planned not to attend to school's work first before she could figure out what was really behind yesterday's horrible incident. She took out her scarf which 007 and the gang had helped picked up from the kindergarten classroom and studied carefully. Then, she happened to pass by the Main Hall and a sharp recall struck her mind. She actually spilled some drink onto the scarf and got it dirtied during the function yesterday. She quickly entered the hall which was now overly quiet with no one around. Forcing herself to retrace further each stage of events, she now remembered that she had thrown the silky material into the bin out of impatience.

"So someone who was present in here at that time must be the culprit," she snapped and rushed towards the trashbin.

"Oh goodness," she bit her lip and muttered upon realising it has been emptied. "Can't care less, I must get more clues," she then headed out of the hall, attempting to look out for the day's janitor on duty.

Turning about a corner, venturing a couple of steps down the hallway, then checking out the janitor's room and finally down a flight of stairs, she managed after some searching around the block, to catch hold of faint sounds of the janitor's trolley being dragged across the corridors.

"Excuse me, Madam Su!!" Teacher Cherry yelled out breathlessly to her.

She stopped and Teacher Cherry ran up to her without extra delay.

"Miss Cherry??" she had never seen the acting principal so flustered.

"No, just...," Teacher Cherry panted and strived to calm down. "Did you clear the Main Hall's rubbish?"

How would she have expected to be queried such a question? But, in a sense, she was and turned thoughtful for a moment, then smilingly said, "Yes! When I was doing that, I happened to discover this thing here." She dug into her pants' pocket and fished out an envelope.

Showing it to Miss Cherry, she added that she was thinking of passing it to her later that day.

"Especially For: Miss Cherry Tao," it read large and clear on the front.

Teacher Cherry was quite taken aback and curious at the same time. She then thanked Madam Su and they soon parted ways.

Walking back down the hallway, with the letter in hand, Teacher Cherry abruptly changed her decision of heading towards her office. She quickly took a turn around a corner which would be followed by a path leading to the Main Hall once again. She was half-wary and half-suspecting of the source of the letter she got.

After a whole half-hour of wandering and consideration, she worked up the courage to tear the envelope open and see what was inside.

There was a sheet of note as predicted, with a queer message:

Remnants of RoseRed,

To try or not,

The taste of the day,

Will delusory or glimpses of paradise be here to stay?

Or sacrifice be the result of a cautious delay?

"Huh?!" Teacher Cherry found it weird that she almost wanted to dismiss it totally. Nonetheless, the last word of the first stanza sparked some interest.

"RoseRed??" she could not help but felt familiar. True indeed, after some moments, she remembered coming across that early in the morning.

"The red wine!!" she saw the name of the brand on the order slip which Sandy had let her signed. Then, before she dashed out of Main Hall, she noticed about more than a dozen stacks of the wine placed neatly by the exit. Miss Cherry quicken her footsteps and decided to run back to the area, wanting to uncover more of the mystery.

By the time she was there, some staff was already unstacking the bottles of drinks for distributing them elsewhere. Teacher Cherry urgently called, "Hey, where are you people bringing those stuff to??"

One of them told, "To the staff lounge..."

Upon hearing so, Teacher Cherry's mind was being bombarded by random lines from the letter..."Delusory or glimpses of paradise..." Then, "sacrifice..." as well as "cautious delay..." She then spotted sharply that one fo the bottles taken from the mobile shelf was surprisingly half-empty. "Wait a minute!" she cried and everyone stopped what they were doing.

"How is this possible??" she took the bottle with a significantly lesser amount of contents from the staff and wondered if, just as what the letter had said, that the red wine it contained was either fake or real. She opened it and gulped down a mouthful of the wine.

"You're faster than me!" Tian Mo Xing declared when she saw that 007 was already waiting by the bench before the place they had planned to meet up.

"I thought this spot is closer to where you were?" he guessed.

"Oh," Tian Mo Xing turned slightly uneasy for a split second before she switched the topic. "Have you tried the porridge??"

He shook his head.

"What? Really, I thought..." she was saddened when out of nowhere he held up from behind a bag of something.

He explained, "We'll try it together here..."

Tian Mo Xing realised so and they sat down on the bench. Opening up the bag and the container, she noted the food she had prepared looked a little different. "Fried Onions on top!!" she squeled excitedly.

007 told further, "I have requested for Tai An Ge to add them..."

Tian Mo Xing was overjoyed, "My favourite! And to think that the dorm does not allow cooking at too a high temperature due to the smoke alarm..."

He smiled and took out another two cups of milkshake he had also bought for both of them.

"Wow, thank you, 007...I too got something for us to enjoy later," she unzipped her backpack to feel inside for a bag. After a few times, she pulled it out, "There...a book about a special little garden-like universe..."

007 set down the still hot-steaming container of porridge and anticipated.

"Ahhh!!!" Tian Mo Xing screamed and dropped the book onto the floor after a glance at the cover which apparently shocked her. She fell quickly into 007's arms to brace herself.

"It's okay, Li Xiao Xing," he tried to relieve her fears as he saw that the book was strangely that of a horror theme entitled 'Night-Keepers'.


	49. Chapter 49: Uninformed Exchange

"I see...," Mandy, the staff at the bookstore nearby the school's dormitory checked the book which Tian Mo Xing handed to her. She explained that it was given to her by mistake.

"So, can I have the right one in exchange??" Tian Mo Xing enquired and hoped that there would be no hassle involved.

Mandy was thoughtful, then said apologetically, "You know what? We got a call from the school's Lost and Found department the other day and they had your book..."

Tian Mo Xing uttered in disbelief, "Lost and Found department again...How is that possible??"

Mandy shrugged, "How would I know? The thing is, they found a piece of note stuck on it and addressed to our bookstore, requesting us to accept it."

"Then, what did you do??" Tian Mo Xing earnestly asked.

"I saw the purchase receipt and arranged for the book to be sent back to your out-of-town home address," she told.

Tian Mo Xing was instantly let down upon figuring that the book was now on its way to her Ah Mu's place far away. 007 who was beside her noted the obvious disappointment written across her face.

"Come on," Mandy tried to cheer her up. "Li Xiao Xing, 'Night-Keepers' is also not a bad book...It has been topping the chart for quite a number of weeks already."

"Can I know what chart it is?" 007 asked.

"Oh, it's our store-compiled Popular Recommendations chart," she returned.

"I think that's okay," Tian Mo Xing spoke at last. "I'm not taking the horror-story book...Thanks," she turned about to leave, with 007 catching up fast with her from behind.

Once out of the store, they walked on in silence. Seeing Tian Mo Xing bearing a dampened mood, it was definitely not an opportune time as of now to find out how she got hold of the wrong book at such a time. Not long, she heard 747 speaking anxiously through the earpiece, "007, is Tian Mo Xing also with you?? This is important,...Miss Cherry passed out again and she had been sent to the hospital!!"


	50. Chapter 50: Battling Weariness

When Teacher Cherry regained consciousness at last in the hospital, all four of them were already by her side burdened by worries.

"Oh," Teacher Cherry still experienced a bit of headache. "So I ended up here again...Boy, what a day..." she moaned tiredly.

"Sis, how are you feeling now?" Tian Mo Xing asked with concern.

She sighed deeply, "What a miserable principal I am...but only to be expected...now, let's get down to business..." She aimed to sit up and Tian Mo Xing quickly helped her.

"Miss Cherry, do you wanna take more rest first??" 007 did not even imagine their teacher to be this serious about the case.

"Oh, 007," Miss Cherry was indeed not willing to lose to her physical constraints. "You're right, I should have been more opened about what happened yesterday to you guys. Here, take my cellphone and try to go through each of the mysterious text messages I received..." she handed it over to him.

007 took it, "So there are what brought you to the old kindergarten??"

She nodded, "I have contacted the Care Centre and was told of the whereabouts of my mother during that time of the day. She had been to the WoodPeak recreational park and there should be no cellphone reception around that hilly area. How was she able to text me??"

"I understand," 007 added. "I have also checked that most of the classroom doors at the old block were actually locked, with the exception of a few including the one where we found you in. The culprit must have been able to gain access to the keys for them by some means."

"Really? Then we should be able to discover something more out of this," 747 tried to lift up everyone's hopes.

"And also, 007," Teacher Cherry suddenly recalled.

"What's the matter?" he asked.

"You did a good job with getting that package of coffee drink I requested you to help out with. So just pass any information you have about it onto my secretary, Sandy and I'll arrange for her to get all stock of red wine in every staff lounge to be replaced with that coffee," Miss Cherry decided firmly.

"That's a good idea too," 187 applauded. "Coffee is always more fit for a school than wine and stuff..."

"One more thing," Miss Cherry rubbed her temples. "I have been talking so much but yet to have gotten to the problem at hand..."

007 explained, "Teacher, the bottle of red wine you drank contained some drug, so causing you to faint."

187 told further, "Weird thing is, the other bottles were now being tested, and so far, no problem has been discovered yet."

Teacher Cherry let out a long sigh again, "I'm simply the pitiful one..." Her mood fell to rock-bottom.

747 quickly consoled, "Miss Cherry, your sadness can spread to us as well. It's no good to be let down...Somehow, I just feel that we're getting closer to the point of this case...There might be more clues waiting to be revealed."

187 almost could not stand his optimism, "Just feeling so? Is that all you can say?"

Tian Mo Xing interrupted, "187, I can understand what 747 is trying to convey...The sense of a preview before upcoming events."

007 pondered about Tian Mo Xing's words and wondered about which stage of the game they were at now.

Someone entering the ward than called to their attention, "Miss Tao, we've finished our tests on the batch of suspected red wine from the school. Another eight opened bottles were found to contain an overdose of a kind of sleep-inducing drug."

"Really??" Miss Cherry became instantly alerted.


	51. Chapter 51: Uneasy Tension

"If everything is okay, you may have these drinks sent back to Sheng Ying," the wine-testing team told Miss Cherry's secretary, Sandy, who then thanked them for the investigation.

007 took the opportunity to do one more sharp scan over the bottles labelled to contain the drug before Sandy led them all to exit the room.

Not long, his cellphone received a call. "Yes, Miss Cherry?" he answered.

"007, what has gotten to you?" Miss Cherry did not sound too pleased. "If it's not for Tian Mo Xing telling me, I wouldn't have known that I can only contact you now through your phone. Why did you lend your earpiece to Tian Mo Xing?"

007 ought to explain this time, "Miss Cherry, I have been checking Tian Mo Xing's headset. There is truly some other gadget eavesdropping along a new connection set up with it."

Teacher Cherry sighed aloud, "Okay, okay now, I don't care whatever, as long as you two or the rest of you guys decide for a time when you can share the use of an earpiece on any day. This is a crucial period and I don't want to lose touch with you..."

"Okay," 007 complied.

"Oh my, anyway, I've talked to the wine-producing company. It just happens that they have a certified inspection procedure running presently which guarantees every bottle of drink delivered to be impeccably safe for health. So the problem doesn't lie with them. They have also declared that they will not be legally responsible for any contaminated product. Moreover, those bottles have already opened beforehand."

"I understand. We'll follow up on the matter," 007 added thoughtfully.

"Alright, over," Teacher Cherry hung up.

187 walked up to 007 and placed a firm hand on his shoulder, "We've heard it all through our headsets...so a prince will always remain steadfast to his girl regardless??"

747 butted in, "Then, all of us have to share our earpiece at one point or another..."

"We'll talk again once back in school," 007 said non-chalantly and advanced in his way.

In the ward, Teacher Cherry has not let her anger subside. After talking with 007, she had called overseas and fired a series of complaints before warning furiously yet another time, "I don't care for whatever reason, dad, as long as you stop your problematic order of redwine for the school. Otherwise, I might just ignore all pending jobs and leave this school in all its mess!!" She then hung up on Principal Tao.

Tian Mo Xing, who has been watching on the side throughtout the time, tried to come up with ways to help cool down her temper. "Sis, I'd say that you don't necessarily have to scold dad so heavily. You woke him up in the middle of night-time in the States and he has to take care of brother too..." She hoped to be able to convince her.

Teacher Cherry still did not look at all pleased with what she heard from her. She merely crossed her arm and looked away, attempting to secure a better train of thought.

Tian Mo Xing decided it was not of much use, "Okay then, I'll leave you to rest first. There's boiled water in the flask, just help yourself if you feel thirsty. If there's nothing else, I'll go back to school for my classes. Bye, Sis..." She left the room.

The moment Tian Mo Xing closed the door, Teacher Cherry did feel a pang of guilt for giving a cold shoulder to her half-sister. However, being in the current state after going through two frightening incidents in a row, she could not help much. She simply hated to face the fact that she had been a vulnerable victim.


	52. Chapter 52: Unravelling Progress

Making his way into this old dust-filled isolated classroom once again, he noted the intensely-dried flower petals scattered all over the untidy table and some on the cement floor right across from the door before the cracked windows. There was also another reason to consider that particular spot eye-catching, for bright streams of midday sunshine flooding in allowed better vision than the other two previous times he had been in here. 007 was now intent on seeking more worthwhile clues given the ample time he has without any lingering sense of urgency and rush unlike before. Interestingly, he coulod see better this moment, exactly which part of the floor was still kept unblemished without conspicious holes or scratches and looking as smooth as probably right after the place was first constructed. He got down upon seeing traces of partial footprints which failed top escape his attention. He guessed that the culprit must have failed to remove his own footprints given the terribly dim lighting of the building. He followed the path they led and soon ended up before a heap of worn and dismantled kids' stuff at the back of the room. After going through them painstakingly one by one, his only suspicion rested on a rusty vintage cassette player.

His cellphone started ringing the next second. "Hello?"

"Hey our genius team member...I've already gone with my precious ones to our school's nearest stores specialising in doors and locks...So far, they've told me that strangely, all of their recent customers from the past weeks have been females, ranging from gorgeous single career ladies to married housewives and poor delivery women running errands to purchase wholesale stock for other stores..."

"Really..." 007 refrained from commenting much on such findings.

"And also, 747 told me to let you know that he has gone to look out for the access key to the old kindergarten block. Unexpectedly, the teacher in charge happens to be that snotty Miss Yeh," 187 added further.

"Okay," 007 understood. "After you both have passed on these information to Miss Cherry, we'll discuss further."

187 smirked, "It's not that I want to be bossy, but I can't stop myself from advising you, 007, that it's better to get this bluetooth earpiece business fixed as soon as possible. Who knows what kind of game the mastermind is up to this time..."

007 paused a bit, then simply replied, "I am considering that..." He then hung up.

"Hmmm..." 187 was half-bemused. He wondered at the same time that if the cool 007 has been offended in any way by his nagging.

When 007 returned to the MIT counselling room that afternoon, he saw his own earpiece placed with a note on the table.

Some message was written on the paper and he read, "007, thank you for your precious concern for me. I'll always hold it deep in my heart, never to be forgotten. You're a much needed and important Pi Li MIT member so you should need this earpiece more than I do. Don't worry about me...

Always,

Tian Mo Xing."


	53. Chapter 53: Eventful Realisations

Not long after she was back in Sheng Ying that day, Tian Mo Xing received a notice from the dorm that there was a letter waiting for her. She quickly went to check her mailbox.

Surprisingly, she learnt that it was sent from the cafeteria. She opened it up and read, "Xiao Xiao Xing, please see to it that you enclosed with this note from me, your hard-earned ticket to Celine Rose Gardens. I have taken it back and specially retained this when you selflessly gave it up the other day." Tian Mo Xing paused and fingered deeper into the envelope. Truly indeed, Tai An Ge has recovered it for her.

She continued, "And as for your question about that rare survey we supposedly have about looking into the various reasons why people like strawberries, I shall honestly tell you that we never did it. I gave some thought on your question and figured out that it could be Zhan Shi De actually lying to you to cover up the fact that he worked extremely hard to clean up my cafeteria one night to exchange for my offer of a fantastic triple-layered strawberry cake for you the next day. The reason being, he missed the challenge on the day before. This aside, just to satisfy your curiosity about strawberries, no matter whom I need to serve, I, as the baker, will always treat all three aspects - the scent, taste and appearance of that fruit, just as equally important. Wish you and Zhan Shi De happiness always...

Take care,

Tai An Ge."

Tian Mo Xing only realised now that 007 has doen so much without her knowing. She hurriedly stuffed the letter into her bag and rushed determinedly on the way to the counselling room.

In the library, 007 has been making use of the computer workstations available there since the MIT room's one was still not working. He managed to figure out that the text messages sent to Miss Cherry did not originate from another cellphone source. Instead, they were each emailed through the web. He decided to check on the IP address later and switched his focus to the dormitory bookstore's popular book recommendations chart. What struck his interest was that before the novel, "Night-Keepers" came into the limelight, no horror-themed story ever topped the chart. He then looked at the two pieces of note. He got one of them earlier that day while the other was discovered together with the gang in the MIT room. Upon closer inspection, he made out that the words on them were written with a similar cursive-style handwriting so obviously by the same person.

Tian Mo Xing was met with disappointment upon finding out that 007 was nowhere to be seen in the counselling room. The others were also not around. She thought hard and changed her mind to head for the school's library.

007 went over to the "Latest Releases" section to look for "Night-Keepers" novel. Luck has it that the book was already on shelf. He quickly grabbed hold of it to get the gist of its contents. He did a thorough reading of the intensely gripping storyline. Somehow, through the heart-wrenching descriptions, something struck his mind heavily. His thoughts sped back to the day when Miss Cherry opened the copy of Yuan Lan Ying's CD in her office. That moment when the deafening sound effects blared through the speakers reignited once again from the depths of his memories. "A car explosion..." his senses told him. Realisations followed one after another when his quick mind began recalling those questions which popped up continuously on the computer monitor screen. He now worked out that apart from all those events having taken place in the same year 2005, they all occurred in the month of June. 007 hastily replaced the book and attempted to rush to the "News Archives" section when a commotion not far away at the front desk caught his attention. He then saw Tian Mo Xing with the librarian and hurried over.

"I don't care, Li Xiao Xing...It was indeed you who borrowed this magazine. All those big red nasty-looking marks drawn on these pages will cause you a penalty!" The librarian told sternly.

"But Miss Xue, those are really not done by me," Tian Mo Xing tried to explain. 007 walked up to them.

"Listen," the librarian continued without taking heed. "If you're not able to clean those ink off and return to me in good condition, you'll not be permitted to borrow materials from here for at least a month. And, another thing, you got to pay the fee for misusing the library's property," she then merely left.

007 already saw the magazine on the desk the moment Tian Mo Xing thought it was too late to hide from him. Just then, 187 and 747 spotted them and went over.

"007," Tian Mo Xing uttered but has no idea what she should carry on to say.

"Wow, Tian Mo Xing," 187 noticed. "This mag - 'Tracking down Sheng Ying's league of Idol-like Boyhood...Not bad, where did you get it??"

Tian Mo Xing was at a lost for words. 187 took the magazine and started flipping through, "Everyone's pictures in here are so 'handsomely' taken. I just knew that girls like your age cannot resist chasing after guys with fresh nice looks. Hmmm...can you find me in here?? Which gentleman in these pages are you searching for??"

747 nudged him from behind, "Do you need to spoil Tian Mo Xing's angel-like reputation in front of everybody?"

187 only cast a wry glance at him. Next minute, 007 took the magazine away from him, "Let's get back to the counselling room..."


	54. Chapter 54: Mindful Doubts

Back in the MIT counselling room, in spite of Tian Mo Xing not willing to talk much about the magazine, 007 still chose to study the unruly markings on its pages. For want of finding out the mysterious fellow who followed her around in the bookstore as told by Mandy, Tian Mo Xing could think of no other way to do so apart from searching through such magazines. Now, she wondered just what might 007 think about her attempts.

"I guess these are more than what you can do with markers - perhaps even not with ordinary marker pens," 007 concluded directly. He seemed to get a sense of familiarity with them. Approaching Tian Mo Xing's side, he wanted to confirm, "You're sure that you returned this 3 days ago?"

She only nodded quietly in response.

187 glanced at his wrist watch and set aside his handmirror, "I'm wondering if that thing has any effect on your emotions, 007...Come on, how long do we have to go on about the magazine...Time to report to Miss Cherry, everyone!"

747 also added, "Even though I'm not that willing, but 007, if you don't want to hear Miss Cherry nagging about your earpiece, we had better go to the hospital now..."

007 looked at Tian Mo Xing's passive expression once more with concern before putting back the magazine on the table. He urged her, "Let's go..."

She got up reluctantly as 007 went ahead. Before turning about to follow him, Tian Mo Xing still could not let go of her worries. 007 did not show any hint of displeasure but merely helped her without question. Seeing him walking further away, she could not prevent herself from catching lightly his hand, causing him to stop in his track.

He turned around only to see a hesitantly troubled Tian Mo Xing. His pure gaze was as penetrating as though trying to speak right into her burdened heart. She looked down and let go of her hand, never been so at a total lost for words as of this certain moment.

Eyes affixed on the floor, she found no courage to tell him her motives. Soon, like a dashing rush of wind, 007 stepped forward to close the distance between them, pulling Tian Mo Xing into a tight comforting hug.

"007," she spoke against the warmth of his shoulder. "I must be the dumbest girl of all...If you're not happy, just say....."

He quickly added before she could finish, "How can I not trust you?"

"But," Tian Mo Xing finally felt the surge of relief given by his words.

He continued, "I'm not your 007 for nothing...Believe me,...as soon as I manage to decode the frequency range of your earpiece, we'll be one step closer to the end of this game."

Tian Mo Xing blinked back tears and nodded, unable to describe the unlimited security she was showered with in his presence.


	55. Chapter 55: Figured Links

When they arrived at the hospital that afternoon, Miss Cherry was extremely delighted to see them bringing along her laptop for her.

"Thank you...thank you! I've been absolutely bored to death!" she exclaimed.

They were at least quite glad that Miss Cherry was as resilient as ever. 747 added, "Teacher, it's fortunate that you told me about that weird excuse I should give to that bothersome Miss Yeh...Otherwise, I couldn't have gotten this key." He held up for everyone to see.

"So it's still with her, what else can we deduce about this??" 187 asked in wonder.

007 went closer, "It smells strongly of red wine..."

"Really??" Teacher Cherry shifted her attention from starting up the computer to the key in 747's hand too. However, with only inches away from it, the scent already made her feel like throwing up and she began coughing uncontrollably.

"Miss Cherry, are you okay?" Tian Mo Xing quickly went to pour a cup of water for her. In her haste, she carelessly spilled the boiling hot water and got scalded, "Ahhh..."

007 hurried over to her side, "You're hurt?" He grabbed some paper towel to help cool her now reddening palm, "No,...it's better to get some toothpaste...That will help heal..."

"Huh? 007...," Tian Mo Xing called out but he had already ran for the bathroom. The others, including Miss Cherry who has now quieten down with the cough subsided, only stared on with interest with their eyes glued on them both.

Inside the bathroom, 007 managed to find a tube of toothpaste. Then, a split second of the sight of Tian Mo Xing's wet sleeve in his mind from moments ago seemed to strike a significant recall. Weeks ago, he also dirtied his own blazer's sleeve with stains of nail varnish while doing a photocopy of Tian Mo Xing's EQ test sheet. Now, he figured out what was behind the trouble with the magazine she borrowed.

"Here, Miss Cherry, have some water," Tian Mo Xing offered. 007 then came out of the bathroom with the toothpaste in hand.

"I'll apply it on for you??" 007 volunteered upon reaching her side.

She turned to him a little uneasily, trying to avoid the others' gazes, "Err...it's okay, I'll do it myself." She stepped aside to another corner.

187 waved infront of 747, who had been looking on awkwardly, "So easily distracted..."

747 was then alerted back to his concentration on the matter at hand and cleared his throat, "Hey 007, did you bring Yuan Lan Ying's CD??"

007 took it from his bag and passed onto Miss Cherry.

She placed it into the drive while everyone waited.

"Oh...a diagram!" Miss Cherry declared upon seeing a pop-up window.

"It's like an inverted triangle with bold circular points on all its three corners," Tian Mo Xing described.

"Then, there're two arrows pointing towards the last lower point," 747 continued.

"Something appearing again," 187 added. "The two topmost points are now numbered '1' and '2'."

007 looked closer, "The upper circular points now changed to two symbols of human figures."

"Hmmm, must be representing two targets!" Teacher Cherry made out.

"And there seems to be a link shared between the two, possibly a relationship with a third person," 007 told. "Miss Cherry, I get this sense too while I was going through those text messages. It could be a family connection."

Teacher Cherry gave some thought and said, "That day in the kindergarten, I was pressured to tell all out about how my father treated both mum and I in the past - all about his mistakes and ignorances...Ah! I remember there was a loud 'click' sound nearing towards the time when Tian Mo Xing came to my rescue!"

007 could now piece together, "I discovered a hidden cassette player and most likely, whatever you have spoken were already set up to be recorded."

"Then, someone must be yearning to know more about what dad did," Tian Mo Xing uttered their mind. Everyone now got a better idea.

"Hey, this...Hangman??" Teacher Cherry was puzzled by what just appeared onscreen.

"007, just like what we did last time..." Tian Mo Xing remembered.

"9 blanks," he figured. The number of letters itself did remind of something. After entering randomly two vowels, his thoughts and memory went fast back to the time when they were with the wine-testing team. Each contaminated bottle has a single-letter code attached and coincidentally, there were also altogether nine of them.

007 did a quick mental shuffling of the set of individual codes to create a meaningful word. In the end, he keyed in and successfully got it right, "BLAMELESS..."


	56. Chapter 56: Tracing Sources

The next day, after the schoolbell sounded for the end of the first class, the students were flocking out of most classrooms. 007 waited before making his way down the hallway as it slowly emptied of crowds venturing to their next class.

Approaching a particular classroom, he stopped and stepped aside after someone seemed to push the door from the inside and shut it. He was about to knock on it when the carelessly-ignored open window allowed him to overhear a girl in the room muttering to herself.

"Okay, sent to ," she said to herself presumably. The next second, a sigh followed, and a click preceeded a certain ringtone being played.

Just then, 007 heard a beep from Tian Mo Xing's earpiece in his pocket. He took it out and realised the connection has been decoded.

The door abruptly opened as out came the girl. She was immensely startled, "How come you're here?!"

007 placed the earpiece back into his pocket, "Lai Wei Ru, leaving nail varnish on the library's magazine as well as setting up a link between your cellphone and her bluetooth can never escape from being discovered for too long..."

She tried to walk away, "I don't know what you're talking about!"

He went on, "What about sending the email minutes ago? That address is the horror title 'Night-Keepers' read backwards with all its vowels excluded. It is connected to the network IP responsible for hacking into the school's library website and securing a hundred percent of the votes leading the novel topping the chart for consecutive weeks. Do I have to say any further about this email forwarding all those text messages to Miss Cherry??"

Lai Wei Ru stopped. 007 walked up to her, "Li Xiao Xing may be born out of wedlock and many people do not support her status in the Tao's family. But her troubled worries as a result of what you've done are genuine and she faces up to each one of them sincerely. Lai Wei Ru, I hope you will give heed to this...and agree to a request for help I am going to ask..."

She cast an indecisive look in his direction.

Over in another block of building not far away, Tian Mo Xing stopped by the doorway of a classroom, looking out eagerly for someone.

"Excuse me, classmate," she called out to one of the students entering. "How come I didn't see Lai Wei Ru in here? I checked the timetable and she's supposed to be in this class."

The student shrugged, "She must be late on her way here from the last class. Why are you looking for her?"

"Oh I see," Tian Mo Xing took out an envelope. "Can you help me pass this to her? It's important..."

She nodded and accepted the stuff. Tian Mo Xing thanked her before walking away.

She then heard her cellphone's alert of an incoming SMS. Opening it, her face turned somber. She has to change her mind and go to her locker.

It just happened to be in the same block so she did not need too much time to reach there. Added to that, receiving the message only made her wanting to rush fast to get the thing done. Opening the locker, she started searching for what was requested from her. A flash of recall suggested that she should check the topmost shelf inside. Tian Mo Xing tiptoed and tried to stretch her arms high to aim for a pile of dust-covered books she managed to get a far glimpse of. Next second, she jumped to grab hold of one of those. However, with her average height, she was only able to secure a firmer grip on the thicker book stuck in the middle.

Unfortunately, the amount of force used caused the rest in the same pile to fall out together, tumbling down against Tian Mo Xing. It resulted in her losing her balance and collasped onto the floor with the messy heap of books. Her knees became bruised in the process. She grimaced in pain. Before she could react to the amount of hurt sustained, her cellphone sounded again. She dug it out from her pocket, only to open a file which showed the video of a distressed Lu Ke Ying struggling helplessly in a crammed room before a flashing computer screen. Tian Mo Xing could even hear him screaming and yelling in desperation. Tears filled her eyes to watch her own brother in such a miserable state. She sobbed.

Around a corner, 007 was just out looking for Tian Mo Xing when he spotted her crouched down on the floor at the end of the hallway. He quicken his pace to run up to her.

"Tian Mo Xing," he was shocked to find her crying and obviously in pain. "What's wrong?" he asked worriedly.

Tian Mo Xing wiped her tears and shook her head quietly. However, 007 already caught sight of the video playing in her phone. She attempted to get up, but the wound on her knees showed through. The pain made her fell back onto the floor. "You're hurt...Just what's going on, Li Xiao Xing?" 007 pulled her towards himself.

She closed her eyes and burst into tears, "007, now I know why my brother had no choice but to blame so much on our parents..."

"I understand...I'm always here...everything will be okay," he consoled and hugged her tight.


	57. Chapter 57: Deductions

At long last, it was time for Teacher Cherry to be discharged. Everyone waited for her to show up at the MIT's counselling room. 187 was about to check his watch when suddenly without warning, a pair of heavy boxes slid noisily into the room, startling almost all of them.

"Huh?" 747 got up and hurried over to the door. It was risky for he has to dodge another pair of incoming boxes, nearly falling over. 007 and Tian Mo Xing rushed towards him with concern.

"Okay, okay...no need to be afraid, I am only trying to transfer back here those stuff which our ingenious mastermind had left behind in that so-called 'Mastermind Computer Centre'. Finally, I get that irresponsible technician to surrender himself and help me out to get pass that cranky store owner," Miss Cherry announced as she appeared from behind and still kicking some more boxes into the room.

"Oh," Tian Mo Xing breathed a sigh of relief. "So brother has kept away so much trash without our knowing..."

Miss Cherry set down the hefty stuff onto the table with a thud, "Aha! And yes, you 007." She pointed at him and gave a nod, "Your guess is correct...the video sent to Tian Mo Xing's phone was indeed taken from the surveillance camera facing the shop's computers. He must be working hard on one of them at that time. Based on the angle of the room deduced, there should be no mistake..."

"Really," Tian Mo Xing realised. "I thought the sender is another of my unreasonable fan crazy over all those horror stories I have written...I never knew that he would be after the misdeeds of our father as well..."

"So is that why 007 has brought these old newspaper articles here," 187 flipped through them.

007 added, "These two articles may sound similar by reporting the same news about a fatal accident happened on a particular day in June 2005. Both mentioned that there were only two casualties but look at one of them. It disclosed that there will be tragically two funerals to be held at two different locations."

187 found 007's explanation weird, "Two casualties, so two funerals...what's the matter with that??"

007 clarified, "Those two persons killed are a pair of married couple...why arrange for ceremonies to take place at locations hundreds of miles apart?"

Teacher Cherry agreed, "That's a point! And see this picture here, everyone..." She held up the paper for them.

"Eh...it's him??" 747 was surprised.

Tian Mo Xing studied closer, "Wait, no.....not dad!"

Miss Cherry smiled at her sister's sharp eye for details, "Right, I remember during the summer of that year, I invited dad and mum for a holiday overseas at where I was attending university. This person shown here is actually a very very close family friend as well as our driver who sported a similar hairstyle as dad...People often joked that they're twins, that was, before he died..."

"So," 747 tried to put things clear. "He passed away due to that accident...But now that I see...it's less of the facial features, and instead, more of their hair that's the same...Why is that, teacher??"

"Well," Teacher Cherry cleared her throat. "That's because they went to the same hair clinic..."

007 figured, "The photo caption did not mention the identity of this person and neither did the article say that he's the third casualty."

Miss Cherry snapped, "This newspaper publisher was known few years back to accept fees secretly in exchange for people's request to modify the contents of articles they wrote. As a result, they had to close down after authorities found out."

"There might as well be a possibility of..." 007 suggested, "More than 3 victims..."

Everyone started thinking. 007 also added further, "I have found out that Sheng Ying's principal before Principal Tao, that is, Principal Sun, joined the company Impact Systems in the States within less than a week this accident happened. Could be more than just coincidence and he might be in a way or another involved in this case..."

747 pondered and said, "Hey, aren't we supposed to find out who could have made a copy of that surveillance video? I'm really eager to know..."

"That," 007 considered. "Depends on who could have access to Mastermind Computer Centre apart from Lu Ke Ying, Yuan Lan Ying or the storeowner."

"Ah...Yuan Lan Ying is now on our side already...Let's contact her," Miss Cherry started punching her number.

The next moment, 007's cellphone rang. "Hello??"

"It's me..."

He automatically recognised Lai Wei Ru's voice.

She said, "I agree to help...but you all must be at the West Wing Auditorium by 8 in the morning tomorrow..."

"Thanks," 007 expressed gratefully.

She then hung up. A tear trickled down her face to fall onto the piece of ticket which Tian Mo Xing had given up unconditionally for her.


	58. Chapter 58: Heartfelt Release

He opened the door quietly and entered the hall. Bringing with him a CD to carry out his plan for this morning, he quickly checked around the AV system of the auditorium. Everything was ready for use. He decided that through the campus-wide connection, his next step was to broadcast to the whole school, those videos of Lu Ke Ying under intense stress that he had managed to gather from Mastermind Computer Centre. This way, everyone would be reminded of how miserable Principal Tao has turned his own son into. He then inserted the disc and turned somber about his decision. In the end, he rested his hand over a certain key. He wouldn't want all his strategies thought out to lay to waste so fought back all resistance. He began to relax his stiffened muscles to press it.

His action turned out to be untimely but he was even more startled to find the huge screen behind him to light up fully. It showed some fuzziness before finally revealing a video.

In a little room adjacent to the huge auditorium, Miss Cherry exclaimed with utter relief, "Yes! 007, you did a perfect job!"

007 made sure everything was proceeding smoothly as he continued to adjust the settings of what was onscreen. This ensured that it could be viewed with high degree of clarity. Tian Mo Xing added, "Good thing that it is now playing well."

"I bet this guy can't take his eyes off the video now," 187 remarked.

"But I can't see his expression clearly. Hey 007, can you focus on a different angle?" 747 looked on curiously.

Back in the auditorium, the video displayed a man seated facing the screen. Danson thought he appeared familiar but was unable to recall. The person then began to speak, "Hello, I had spent a considerable amount of time thinking how should I go about introducing myself. Still, I'm afraid this part is the toughest for me to handle. So I might as well jump straight to the point. Sorry, Danson...I know that that unforgettable accident few years back have changed your life drastically without mercy. I know also, that no matter how much I apologise, your parents' death will continue to remain an unchangeable truth. So, unable to contain the overwhelming guilt I have to bear for the rest of my life, I, will admit that I had been the one trying all means to financially support you eversince that tragic year. The reason being I insisted on Principal Tao's friend to drive on the day of the accident and unfortunately, he collided with your parents' car. I know you may never forgive me for destroying your family, Danson...But please, I have one last request to ask of you. Give up your efforts to pursue Principal Tao and his family members for they are truly innocent and have been wrongly suspected by you. I am the one who owe you the responsibility to make up for your parents' decease. You may continue to blame me all you want...I know that I deserve that hatred...Once again, sorry..." The screen then blacked out.

Now with tears in his eyes, Danson hit the table hard, "Why?! Why confess to me only today, after so long?!!"

Teacher Cherry and the gang quickly rushed into the auditorium and hurried to Danson's side. He wiped his tears but more still continued to flow.

"Danson, are you okay??" Miss Cherry consoled and placed a hand on his shoulder.

He looked up at her through watery eyes, "Is this all the explanation you can give me??"

Teacher Cherry could sense the deep hurt he experienced. She told further, "No...like Principal Sun said, he still bears overwhelming guilt even now. The reason being his company in the US has closed down so he's unable to provide for your living expenses anymore. But I have a way to help you. Being a bright student you are, there's a way through scholarship and allowances Sheng Ying can give. I'm sure that if I bring forth your case and propose to the Board of Directors, they will agree to help. Also, Principal Sun did keep the whole truth from you. Your parents and our driver-friend were not the only casualties of the accident. Principal Sun also lost his own wife and son as a result."

Danson only responded with near total unbelief upon hearing what Miss Cherry said.

She went on, "To make up for the emotional impact caused to your family, he chose to request, albeit unlawfully, for the publications to disregard reporting about his precious family members' deaths. Losing his own son did not prevent him from ignoring your sorrowful situation. Yet, he could only show his care for you only so much..."

Danson came to his never-before anticipated realisation. He uttered with guilt, "Sorry, Miss Cherry..." Turning to Tian Mo Xing, he also asked, "Forgive me too..."


	59. Chapter 59: Season's Approach

Tian Mo Xing held up a postcard and started reading, "Dear Li Xiao Xing, You know what?! Celine Rose Garden is actually a very gorgeous and magnificent concert hall! The structure of the building is elegantly shaped like a lovely giant rose petal. Oh My! I just went with Danson last night to attend a classical piano performance and it was so awesome! Thanks, Li Xiao Xing...If not for you, I wouldn't have the chance of this special romantic experience...I will treasure the moments, as Danson will be going very soon to America to spend this year's Christmas with Uncle Sun...I am very grateful for you all at Pi Li MIT...Even though we don't know each other as well yet, but I would love to start all over again and regard you as a good friend who has helped me...Sorry for saying so many times, but thank you very much again...

Warmest Wishes,

Lai Wei Ru..."

Tian Mo Xing fought back tears and flipped over the postcard to see the picture. Next minute, she exclaimed, "Oh no! I miss it! I miss everything! Celine Rose Garden!" Her mood fell to rock-bottom upon another glance at the interior shot of the concert hall. It was as if her dreams have been given away which hurt her with awful regret.

007, who was at a corner and heard her moans and cries, could not help but smile as he carried on moving out all those boxes of Christmas decorations and ornaments.

Tian Mo Xing sighed deeply and flopped heavily onto the cozy chair behind her, "007, don't you feel we bestowed too much mercy on others, that in the end, we lost all enjoyment...?"

007 picked up a string of Christmas tree lights, "Really?? We've reached this year end and I think Christmas is a time when we should really appreciate the meaning of being a 'merciful giver'...because I can feel that we not only touch others with happiness in this way but our ownselves as well..."

Tian Mo Xing knew his words could always capture her heart under all sorts of circumstances. She got up and went over to join him by the Christmas tree, "I do have another good news too..."

He turned to her, "What's that?"

She smiled brightly, "Mum told me last night...that brother has not only been involving himself in drawing pictures still as usual...but the psychiatrist has helped him discover his new interest in painting!"

007 was glad for her, "This is great indeed..."

Tian Mo Xing nodded eagerly, "Mum also promised me that she will send a copy of brother's first painting soon..."

"We have already known Teacher Angel to be an artistically-gifted student before...so your brother will probably be the same," he encouraged.

Tian Mo Xing agreed, "Then I might be the sister of a famous painter in the near future..."

007 dug out more decorations, "A big shiny star..."

Tian Mo Xing moved closer to catch a better glimpse, "I think that should be placed at the top of the tree..."

"Okay then," 007 took it.

"Hey wait!" Tian Mo Xing stopped him.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

She grabbed the star, "I'm 'Tian Mo Xing' right? So let me fix this thing on the tree for you instead!"

"But," he thought her average height might put her at a disadvantage since the tree itself was more than 7-feet tall. However, Tian Mo Xing did not waste time in pulling over a creaky old stool and bravely stood on it.

"Well, should be at this angle," Tian Mo Xing figured as she tried to reach out to the tip of the tree.

007 was getting worried by the minute, "Tian Mo Xing, are you sure that you won't need me handle the job?"

"Ahhh...no worries...I'm nearly getting it done..." she told but her hands still remained at a certain distance away from the spot she desired to place the decoration on.

"Tian Mo Xing, you better let me," 007 called out.

She grimaced at the effort, "Why am I born to be so short??"

"Tian Mo Xing," 007 urged again. "This stool is not able to maintain much balance...I'll get another one for you!"

"Huh??" she tried to stretch her arm even further, yet at a considerable price.

007 released his grip on the stool and decided to find a better one. Just at the second after he did so, Tian Mo Xing yelped, "007!! I can't take it anymore!!" The stool gave way as she lost her footing.

"Ahhh!!!" As a last resort, she could only grab hold of the nearest branches of the tree. Yet, she still fell and luckily, 007 caught her in time before the whole tree tumbled together with them onto the floor. The process also caused the lights put up previously to go off completely.

Tian Mo Xing had her arms wrapped around 007 as she landed on top of him in a way that she was not hurt in the least bit. She did not dare to open her eyes to see the mess they have ended up in.

She could feel his breath so close upon hearing him speak up again, "Are you alright, Li Xiao Xing??"

In her mind, all thoughts about how 007 ventured at just the right time to save her and how deeply he cared for her, floated about unceasingly. She nodded quietly, her smooth hair touching his cheek while she did so. Plucking up all courage, she lifted her head and opened her eyes, only to meet his heartfelt gaze focused directly on hers.

They only looked at each other at a close proximity that their immediate surroundings seemed to fade more and more into ignorance. Tian Mo Xing's heart raced faster with each passing second. She was about to wonder for how long they would continue in this way until when 007 reached out with his hand to stroke gently her fringes...

"Oh my gosh..." Tian Mo Xing cried silently in her heart. "Is this just gonna be my early Christmas gift from 007??"

Slowly but surely, her inner question appeared to be getting an answer. 007 soon tilted his head closer and brought his lips to touch hers, sealing both of theirs in a loving passionate kiss.


	60. Chapter 60: Hope to Suffice

Tian Mo Xing opened the door to her room in the dormitory block. She gasped out of surprise and awe, "Wow,...so beautiful..." Each four corner of the inside was lined with little adorably-shaped baskets of miniature Christmas trees. The lights were out but countless bright candles lit up the whole room in a pleasant romantic style.

In a way she was totally not expecting, 007 showed up from behind her with his strong arms encircling her slender waist, whispering softly and closely into her ear, "My Love, Merry Christmas..." He kissed her temple and held onto her tighter.

Tian Mo Xing smiled, "Did you prepare all these, 007??"

He replied, "Trust our hearts linking us together...and you'll know...A Christmas tree stands for hope in the midst of the overwhelming season's cold. And in here, if you look closely, there's a pink rose resting on every tiny tree, all 999 of them - representing our hope in the love shared between the both of us...leading along the unceasing trail of time..." Then, they pulled apart and he turned her around to face him.

Tian Mo Xing was mesmerised as well as finding herself falling in love with his deep gaze over and over again, "007, thank you..." He was truly charming in her eyes.

007 smiled softly at her and reached to touch her face. Taking a step forth to close the distance between them, a moving kiss ensued...

"Beep...Boop...Beep...Boop..." The repetitive buzzing of an alarm clock spoilt the continuation of Tian Mo Xing's dream. She protested lazily and yawned aloud, "Why's 007 vanishing??" Rubbing her tired eyes, she sat up in discontentment. It was indeed the start of another new day. She unwillingly shut off the disturbing alarm and mastered the will to drag herself out of bed.

Walking down the street, 747 was struggling within himself to come up with a good excuse to not accompany 187 further. Still, he has no other program arranged for the day so spending time by himself may not be a better idea. As a result of 187 being stood up by one of his precious girlfriends, he was being treated to a sumptuous breakfast a while ago. He had called 747 over to join him at the classy restaurant since everything has been ordered and there was no good reason to waste the food. As much as 747 disliked being a mere replacer of 187's date, he gave in to the latter's temptations still.

Now, he was starting to feel all the more awkward that he has to voice out, "Hey, I have eaten my share of breakfast and even brought your gift...can we just part ways now? Feels weird of us two guys hanging out this way..."

187 only appeared oblivious and stopped to look about. He headed over to the front gate of a certain residence to check again, "Ahh...right, finally here!!"

747 was extremely offended by his attitude, "Goodness, young master Qian Fu Hao, were you even listening??"

187 only gave a wry grin and patted 747's stiff shoulder, "Come on, sorry to cause a rise to your temper...Thanks anyway, I managed to recall now and there's no need for me to make use of your last-minute gift. It'a actually with me...my girl's not gonna be disappointed."

747 turned sour-faced before continuing on his way in the opposite direction. 187 bade goodbye to him before unlocking the gate to enter. He was about to knock on the door when someone rushed out, nearly startling him.

He recognised, "Genie?? What brings you here??"

She looked up at him, thoroughly saddened, "I thought having your gift in my hands means a little step closer to your heart...Who would know, I had been too naive..." She then ran off without a second look at him.

Soon, Yuan Lan Qing reached the door, "Fu Hao, you're here..."

He asked, "You just told Genie about our relationship??"

She nodded soberly.

187 consoled, "Don't worry, I'm sure she'll understand...Here..." He took out a gift from his coat pocket, "Merry Christmas..."

At a bus-stop not far away, 747 was waiting in a seriously low mood. A girl slowly walked over from a corner, seemingly not in any way better than him, or even much worse. He was not aware in the first place, except until the moment he heard someone sobbing from the side.

Turning about, he least expected to see a distantly-familiar face again after so long. Who was she? He has to question himself silently a number of times before he remembered to be a girl from Class 5C.

"Are you alright?" He approached her.

She lifted her gaze and 747 saw a lovely face filled with tears.

He hurriedly took out a piece of tissue, "What happened?" The first time they met each other, she was also crying.

Genie accepted the tissue from him but cried even more.

He wondered what to do. Reaching out with one hand, he considered offering a comforting pat on her back. Next moment, she simply went up to him and rested her head on his shoulder.


	61. Chapter 61: Grateful Wish

It is the evening of Christmas Eve and Tian Mo Xing has with her the gift meant for 007 as she heads towards the MIT counselling room. She has spent a considerable effort on a specially knitted scarf, thereby hoping that he would really love it.

Finally reaching the doorway, she finds the door left slightly ajar. "007, are you here??" she uttered softly while opening to enter inside.

There was no one to be seen. Tian Mo Xing was immensely disappointed.

"Boo!!" Someone sneaking up from behind managed to scare the wits out of her.

Tian Mo Xing turned around angrily, "187!! Stop fooling around!!"

He smiled playfully, "Merry Christmas to our rose amongst the thorns of our MIT group, Miss Tian Mo Xing!" He held up a nicely-wrapped gift for her.

She sighed with a downcast face, "Why must you be the first one to give me??"

He got her message, "Oh, should I apologise for my gentlemanly gesture? Come on, it's Christmas...cheer up! But sad to say, I have no idea where 007's gone to now..."

She looked up at him despondently, "Sorry, I have left yours and everyone else's presents back in my dorm..."

He chuckled, "Am I not an understanding person? Okay, I don't mind it at all...Teacher Cherry and 747 are still busy preparing the food in the school's kitchen...Perhaps, 007 might show up once they're done, I don't know? Meanwhile, I still need to go around and send more wishes to my babes, good luck Little Star!"

Tian Mo Xing nodded and watched on as 187 went on his way...

She has no other option but to walk back all the way to her dorm and get the remaining gifts. Once she did so, she quickly rushed over to the school's kitchen despite trying to control her curiosity.

"Hey 747, I'm going to spend another 15 minutes on this roasted turkey, what about your shepherd's pie?? Still baking??" Teacher Cherry looks as though she's busy homemaker with the apron on as she continues to busy herself.

"Ya, shouldn't be taking too long," 747 called out from a corner. From a side glance, he managed to spot Tian Mo Xing standing quietly at the doorway. "Hey Tian Mo Xing, you're here already!" he simply grabbed a kitchen cloth and wiped his hands.

She smiled a little, "Ya, Merry Christmas..."

"Merry Christmas!!" Teacher Cherry and 747 expressed in unison.

Tian Mo Xing then hesitated, "Errr...since you all have stuff to do, I'll hold onto your Christmas gifts first..."

"Ya, don't worry, Tian Mo Xing, we can handle these...you might wanna to put those gifts over at the Atrium Lounge first...or even these dishes we're already done with," Teacher Cherry suggested.

"Oh, okay," Tian Mo Xing helped to take those food with her. She was about to leave the kitchen when she suddenly stopped in her track. Both Teacher Cherry and 747 also noted her indecision.

Tian Mo Xing turned back again. Next second, Teacher Cherry told, "747, you better watch your pie, the aroma is getting stronger...Tian Mo Xing, 007 has actually gone to the Care Centre..."

"Huh? Care Centre??" It did not appear likely in Tian Mo Xing's guesses that 007 would be there.

Teacher Cherry assured smilingly, "Don't worry, his own girl is the last thing to be forgotten on Christmas Eve..."

Tian Mo Xing nodded, "Thank you, Sis..." She then left with a less heavy heart.

At the atrium lounge, everything seems to be in place for the mood of the occasion. Lovely decorations, festive lights, charming Christmas wreaths over doors and windows as Tian Mo Xing behold. Only that, at this moment, her heart's longing is still waiting to be filled by a person who holds a very important place in her life. She set down the food onto the nicely-laden table. It appears that tonight's waiting from the moment she has prepared the gift until now to be immensely long. She so anticipates how will he feel the minute he sees the gift, the delighted smile on his face and his display of appreciation. Now glancing at the clock, there's only an hour left before midnight.

Tian Mo Xing placed down the gift. She wondered if she should wait for him at the school entrance. Merely calling him through the phone would be less direct and personal than seeing him in person so she disregarded it.

She paced towards the door, doubted for a while before retreating. Averting her gaze to the gift on the table, she hurried over and grabbed it with her as she dashed to the door determinedly this time.

Pushing the handle, it gave way and as she lunged forward, Tian Mo Xing ended up falling into that pair of strong, belonging arms once again. She gazed up with bliss, "007...it's you..."

He smiled seeing her so relieved, "Sorry, I made you wait..." She returned happily, "No, nevermind..." He pulled her closer towards himself in a long-anticipated hug.

"Merry Christmas," he wished.

Tian Mo Xing just revel in his loving embrace, "Merry Christmas, 007..."

He took out something as they pulled apart at last, "Here, I got this for you..."

She wondered, "A letter? It's from...?"

"You'll be glad to know," he encouraged. Tian Mo Xing then quickly opened it and read, "Dear Li Xiao Xing, Thank you very much for your Mother's Day's carnations. I never expect to receive those beautiful flowers from someone other than my own daughter...I am very touched...I miss telling you during your last visit to this Care Centre when you spoke so bravely to me. I am a woman of few words as I have always been. But, I can now acknowledge without regret of your presence in my life...You are a very unique girl whom I have ever come across and I can tell that you have a very kind heart...Be strong and Merry Christmas...

Mrs Tao..."

Tian Mo Xing's eyes almost turned watery, "It's from Teacher Cherry's mother...Oh my..."

007 added, "She has accepted you, Li Xiao Xing...your efforts have not lay to waste..."

She turned to him, "Thank you, 007...you especially went to get this for me!"

The sound of the doors opening and the lights came on. 'Merry Christmas, Tian Mo Xing and 007!!" Teacher Cherry, 187 and 747 now showed up with those tempting food.

"Ahh, silly me...I should address as my lovely little sister instead!" Teacher Cherry corrected herself. After she put the large turkey onto the table, she quickly gave Tian Mo Xing a big hug, "So, I have a great idea...just let me scan that letter and mass-email them to every single soul in this school...This way, no one's gonna discriminate against our Li Xiao Xing anymore!"

Tian Mo Xing now really has tears already, "Thank you, Sis...thank you, everyone!"

"Okay, okay...our MIT's pretty flower should be happy, right??" 187 urged.

The sound of someone's stomach growling was heard...Everyone turned to look and 747 was extremely embarrassed. He smiled uneasily, "Can we eat now??"

They all laughed. 007 then opened the champagne as Tian Mo Xing readied the glasses for him.


	62. Chapter 62: Pressing Ahead

"Oh, write about all the cases we have ever came across so far??" Tian Mo Xing scratched her head blurly.

Teacher Cherry flashed a big smile while affirming, "In order to convince the board of directors to declare Pi Li MIT as an approved club in this school, this is one of the most important first steps we have to make. You all have seen those past years' copies of MIT's case collection. Now, it's time to create an up-to-date version for 2008-2009...or possibly up to this year..."

007 popped open his yellow tube, "We only have progress reports of the latest two cases, so there's quite alot to recall from 2008..."

Tian Mo Xing moaned aloud, "Why me?? Am I the only certified writer in this group??"

747 added, "That's right! Perhaps each one of us should help Tian Mo Xing..."

Teacher Cherry walked up to where her sister was seated, "Tian Mo Xing, don't worry...I'll split the task equally among all of you...Sorry if I made it sound too overwhelming at first...You only have to gather information and summarise to make them more readable..."

Tian Mo Xing lifted her gaze with relief, "Then, okay...I'll try my best..."

187 posed a question, "I'm wondering...what's the difference between MIT's status as of now and after it turns into an approved club?"

Teacher Cherry faced him, "Once everything has gone through the permission of the board of directors, MIT's well-deserved recognition and our accomplishments will be included in the highly-acclaimed Sheng Ying's History of Records published yearly."

007 offered further, "Sheng Ying was founded by a group of scholars representing various academic disciplines who came from the world over. Although they are no longer directly involved in the matters of the school, the History of Records are still being sent annually to them. They are in charge of the university's advisory committee and may help map out the future of this school's influence in the international academic field..."

"So far-fetched, are we really that priviledged?" Tian Mo Xing uttered dreamily.

Teacher Cherry nodded soberly, "Sheng Ying's history is in reality that far-fetched. Thus, it's about time for us to make that mark in print. Who knows what kind of paths in future will each one of us be destined to take? Okay, everybody??" She tried to instil motivation in all four of them.

"Ya..." They all responded simultaneously.


	63. Chapter 63: Receipt Due

747 unrolled scrolls and scrolls of paper he took out from the boxes and complained, "Goodness, I'm like trying to figure out trillions of lines of a foreign language here. Why did Lu Ke Ying only write codes and nothing else??"

007 went over to take a glance at what he was holding onto, "He needed to do these so the programs would work...Just leave them on the table once you've got all out..."

747 looked at him without help, "Can't you see Teacher Cherry has moved dozens of boxes here? How are we gonna find space for them all?? Then, don't tell me you're gonna study all of them??"

007 gave a thought before adding briefly, "We still have lockers around..." He returned back to his task of going through the progress reports he had written.

747 could barely stand him, "Alright, but mine's full so don't even consider..."

Shortly, Tian Mo Xing rushed into the room like a gust of wind and announced with a delighted smile, "Tada!! Look what I've got here!!" She dragged in a big piece of wrapped package, almost the size of a latest wide TV screen. Urging them both to help out, she was trying her hardest to be careful of not spoiling each part of the thing.

"Tian Mo Xing, what's that??" 747 questioned with brimming curiosity.

She panted, "You really can't guess? The way I'm extremely cautious about this, it's obviously a priceless treasure..."

007 handed her a piece of tissue, "Did you bring all the way here by yourself? Delivery only stops at the postal centre..."

She thanked him and wiped off beads of sweat on her face, "Seems that I can't contain my excitement."

After they have placed the huge item at a decided corner, 747 has to press her again, "Tian Mo Xing, let's reveal now...What's this and from whom did you get it??"

007 observed, "It's a framed thing...some painting of sorts??"

Tian Mo Xing gleamed with pride, "Okay, now it's newly-arrived from the States...A creation by my brother, Lu Ke Ying...indeed it's a unique piece of artwork!!"

"Oh, that's why..." 747 was awestruck. "He's so un--predictable...un--believable...un--der-estimated...un--"

Tian Mo Xing lightly hit his forehead, "Come on, it's truly done by him!!"

007 smiled, "At such promising rate of progress, this is a sign of his headstrong perseverance..."

She nodded agreeingly, "Yet, I'll keep this as it is until Teacher Cherry is free to come and witness his outstanding achievement."

747's expression instantly fell, "So we're not opening it to see this minute...Oh my....."

Tian Mo Xing reminded him that patience is a virtue that he needs to master.


	64. Chapter 64: Old Mate

"Here, 007...I'll put this on for you," Tian Mo Xing uttered excitedly as she turned him around to face her.

He gazed at the shiny piece of thing in her hand. Appearing a little lost, questions popped up from every little corner of his mind.

She adjusted the pin carefully, "This suits you the best! Isn't it amazing that we'll still be given such charming souvenir?"

He fingered it while engrossed somewhat in deep thought.

Tian Mo Xing finally settled her decision on the right centre spot over his breastpocket and fastened the clasps together tightly, "There! Perfect! Ha, what a thing to do on New Year's Day..."

He looked up at her doubfully, "Why don't you think this brooch suits you better?"

Being asked such question, Tian Mo Xing wondered if she should credit anything to gut feeling. She raced her mind to come up with some sense worth talking about, "Come on, you just stopped wearing that Sheng Ying's elite badge for sometime...I'm not used to it...Other than that, this prettily-designed flute-shaped brooch absolutely fits you...Or should I remind once more that you're a musical genius??"

"Really?" 007 hesitated about her lengthy self-created logic.

End of Flashback...

He inserted the key in and gradually unlocked the obscured drawer. Pulling it open, he saw some old folders inside. Taking out each of them, the unruly sight gave way to a well-kept case underneath. 007 cautiously grabbed hold of it. He still has another tiny silvery key in his hand which he used to open up the case. Once he saw the instrument, a surge of nostalgia flowed through his senses. It looked still very much the same as it has been two years back. If fate allowed, he yearned for all he could to play the age-old flute again. However, even handling its fragility with his own hands felt like a dabbling with a silently mysterious force. He kept his instinctive fervour and reached for a cloth to clean off the dust from it.


	65. Chapter 65: Wanted Essence

187 offered a cup of cooling drink, "Here, Miss Cherry...Don't get so worked up over the matter..." He placed it down on the table before her.

Miss Cherry only shook her head without help, "Wait 'till I show them what I'm capable of doing to the extreme...wait 'till they will all bow down to my requests one day...wait 'till they realise that all those power they wield will one day be denied from them...wait 'till I manage to gather unanimous support from academic leaders...wait 'till..."

747 followed up, "Wait till one day, when the world over will recognise all that Pi Li MIT gang has done for....."

Tian Mo Xing butted in, "Really, another obstacle has came up..."

Miss Cherry sighed deeply and rested her tired back against the chair, "Those two latest reports we're done with didn't gain any approval from the board of directors outright after they previewed this morning...I just don't understand them!"

007 added, "Teacher, what reason did the directors give as a basis for rejection?"

She recalled after some thought, "Merely lacking essence..."

"Is that all?" he asked again.

Miss Cherry said further, "The meeting was called up by me without prior arrangement so time limit was a factor preventing me from getting detailed explanations..."

"Could it be that the cases we wrote up did not relate well??" Tian Mo Xing suggested.

007 nodded in presumed agreement, "They might not have deduced any direct connection with the school...Added to that, there's also a loophole..."

"What's that?" 187 wondered curiously.

He reminded them, "The link between our computers and a mysterious foreign source is still an ongoing concern that I have been trying to figure out...Other than the proxies which all originated from Danson Tang's school account."

"Danson's gone to the States...Otherwise, we could have gathered more info from him," Tian Mo Xing offered.

Teacher Cherry inferred, "Yuan Lan Ying has told me quite a bit...Apart from brother(Lu Ke Ying) and Danson, she's the only one who's reachable at this point in time."

"Behind Lu Ke Ying's motives, with the remaining CDs that we have in hand only serve to affirm that there's a bigger mastermind beyond," 007 decided.

"Ah..." 747 snapped. "What if we recreate those game CDs from Lu Ke Ying's program codes??"

Such an idea did ring up some interesting strategies.


	66. Chapter 66: Unexpected Return

Lai Wei Ru took out something from her bag and handed it to Tian Mo Xing who was seated opposite her.

"Uh...Goodness, I've lost this diary of mine for quite some time," Tian Mo Xing gasped in disbelief.

Lai Wei Ru expressed apologetically, "Ya, we're extremely sorry for this..."

Tian Mo Xing's curiousity suddenly aroused, "Wait,...you said 'we'??"

Giving a light nod of confession, Lai Wei Ru went on to explain, "From what Danson told me, do you remember the time when your folder got switched in the computer lab...At that time, he got this diary as well...But now, since all things are over, you should have it back..."

Tian Mo Xing could not imagine the matter reached so far back into history. She quickly opened it to check if her precious belonging was still in good condition. A note of apology from Danson slipped out. Yet, Tian Mo Xing wailed aloud, "Oh, even 007 has never touched this diary before, now...'he' just simply read everything! Aahhhhh..."

Lai Wei Ru got up and rushed over to her side, patting Tian Mo Xing to console her, "It's okay, Li Xiao Xing...we understand how horrible it feels to have a guy reading everything about a girl's secrets...I did caution him not to let anyone else know...and made him promised that..."

Tian Mo Xing looked up pitifully at her, not in the least feeling any better. She cried, "What's the point? How can I trust you? Even you must have known alot about my thoughts and feelings...Right?!"

Wei Ru's only appeared more guilty despite forcing a smile, "Yeah, but basically it's all centred on Zhan Shi De...things going on in your world of purely bizarre imaginations...haha...oh well, we're not taking them seriously as before...you can say it's just a love storybook of sorts..."

Tian Mo Xing stopped moaning at this point of being quite hurt by Wei Ru's remarks. She looked away, "I know...alot sure happens in my overactive mind..."

Wei Ru knew that she has offended her in some way. She turned Tian Mo Xing around to face her, "Come on, cheer up! At least we both profited in some way at the end!"

"Huh?" Tian Mo Xing was blank and dejected at the same time.

Wei Ru sighed at her slow thinking, "Didn't the whole trouble made Zhan Shi De care about you even more...the relationship between you both was deeply strengthened...And as for me, I plucked up the courage to confess my heart out to Danson, and he accepted me!!"

"Oh," Tian Mo Xing got the picture, despite still extremely let down. "So?"

Wei Ru only displayed more impatience, "I should have got everything recorded for you to witness...but anyway, I have to tell you that Zhan Shi De really spent tremendous effort before in persuading me to not hurt you and help end the game which Danson took over...He said that your courage made him understand the meaning of true love in this world...As long as we're with the right person, there's hope and we should believe in it..."

Tian Mo Xing was instantly alerted, "Really?"

Next moment, Wei Ru closed the distance between them and gave Tian Mo Xing a comforting hug, "Sorry, no matter how many times I feel like repeating, I will still say this again...Li Xiao Xing...And thank you, for indirectly enabling to face a new brilliance in my life once more...thank you...I hope we can always be friends till the end..."

Tian Mo Xing could not help but shed a tear, "It's okay, Wei Ru...I will always accept your apology...Let us continue to stay strong for the love of our lives..."


	67. Chapter 67: Assurances

Tian Mo Xing stopped at the doorway to see if 007 was already in the MIT's counselling room. It turned out he was in accordance with her expectations. She entered quietly and asked, "007, what are you doing?"

He responded from where he was seated before the computer, "I'm reprogramming the CDs..."

Tian Mo Xing also noticed that he was very involved in his task, "How's the progress??"

"80% done," he answered briefly.

"Oh," she hesitated. "Then, you just get on with your work...I won't disturb you." She prepared to leave.

007 saw her aiming for the door. He glanced at the time on his watch before releasing his grip on the mouse. He got up and ran over, "Tian Mo Xing, let us head to the cafeteria. I've checked that Tai An Ge is promoting his latest addition of strawberry crepe to the morning menu..." He caught her hand to lead the way.

Upon hearing what he said, Tian Mo Xing instinctively stopped in her track.

"What's wrong??" he inquired.

She looked up at him, a little indecisive, then let go of her hand to hug him tight.

"Anything worries you?" he asked again.

She shook her head, "Being close to you, I can only admit how fortunate I am. 007, thank you so much...Lai Wei Ru had told me everything..."

"Really? She did?" He now understood why.

"007, sometimes I don't get the sense of how lucky I am...Yesterday, I was too engrossed in complaining how Miss Cherry couldn't find time to look at brother's painting with me...And how it's gonna be tough to write about brother's nerve-racking schemes and cases..." Tian Mo Xing just hated to realise her attitudes.

He assured her, "Don't worry, I'll find a way to uncover the true mastermind's identity. Behind all these, someone has got to be responsible, as we all know it, and your brother won't be accused...Tian Mo Xing, trust me..."

"007," she couldn't express how much she should be grateful for counting on him.

Just during this while, an interruption of alerting sound from the computer broke their attention. 007 went over to check, "Missing/Wrong code errors..." He scanned through the long sheets of Lu Ke Ying's code on the table. Being immensely sure that nothing was left out nor entered incorrectly, he doubted if the program had worked out the mistake intentionally.


	68. Chapter 68: Vague Depiction

Teacher Cherry and Tian Mo Xing together ripped off the cover of the painting that has been placed in the counselling room for a while. Once the piece of art was unveiled, everyone gazed on in awe.

"Oil painting eh??" 187 figured.

"Indeed!!" Teacher Cherry clasped her hands together and beamed with pride.

"Oh, so mystical...can't believe this," Tian Mo Xing looked on with utmost admiration.

"Hmmm, but I still don't get it," 747 was a little confused. "All we see are ladders, ladders and more ladders..." He pointed at the various parts of the painting.

Teacher Cherry hit his forehead lightly, "You understand just so little...see everyone's reactions...we know more about appreciating art..."

007 stooped down to touch slightly one lower corner of the painting. It served to affirm what was observed. There were strange hideous cracks felt, suggesting the application of cobalt drier on it.

"But," Tian Mo Xing interrupted his thoughts. "Though I have to admit that this artistic work is marvellous...I don't quite understand how and why its story can be told only through ladders..."

"Well, I guess it might have a hidden meaning behind, symbolic of something...something...like reaching high up to the top," 187 tried to make sense of it all.

Before they could delve deeper, a flashing alert on the computer screen caught 747's attention. "Hey," he quickly reached over to see.

"What's that?" Tian Mo Xing asked.

He looked at everyone uneasily, "Errr...I guess that I have inserted the wrong CD..."

007 dreaded the answer, "You mean Yuan Lan Ying's CD??" He hurriedly closed the pop-up dialog box but it seemed the process could not be stop already. An animated icon of a recycling bin appeared and reminded that messages saved had reached its expiry.

"A conversation window," 747 saw.

"Don't tell me it's the network connection's fault," 007 realised too late.

The screen blacked out for a second. 747 frowned as he read the words which remained, "Huh? 'Ok, I will do it'...'Done'...'Understood'...what the..."

007 sighed, "We're only left with Yuan Lan Ying's parts of the dialogue."

Tian Mo Xing got the point, "So there's actually someone else she was conversing with, like in msn messenger...but more like she's obeying every bit of the other party's commands..."

"At this stage," 007 uttered regretfully. "I can only say most likely so...it will take some while to figure out that person's IP address."

Everyone's face fell. Miss Cherry sensed the deflated mood of the atmosphere and so decided to lift up their spirits, "Come on, we can still contact Yuan Lan Ying to clarify the situation...So okay, find a chance to meet up with her to talk things over...Goodness, I have to go for a meeting again...007, come help me move this painting over to the principal's office...187, you too!"

They both did as was told. When 007 went to lift up one end of the canvas, he managed to get a quick glimpse of some tiny words printed on the back of it. "St Mary's Art Shop," he wondered as the name of the place sparked some sort of recall.


	69. Chapter 69: Definite Switch

In the principal's office, Miss Cherry reviewed a new batch of reports that have just been sent to her. After about an hour of going through each of them, she was literally overwhelmed by the results. Under the numerous categories, Sheng Ying has not secured any top spot in the relevant academic disciplines, whether at the national or international level. She took down her glasses, filled with utter disbelief and worry at how she should present the information at the upcoming meeting with the directors. Deep inside, she knew the publishers must have been bribed to produce false reports. Now, she has to crack her brain to think of how to rectify the problem as soon as she can. As she rested against the torturing hard cushion of the chair, her eyes inadvertently met the precious painting done by her brother, Lu Ke Ying. 007 and 187 had placed it facing directly her desk, at her request. As she continued to survey it from her seat, her focused concentration caused Miss Cherry to notice sharply the various camouflaged cracks on each rung of the ladders. She recalled 187's explanation of 'reaching high up to the top'. This instant, it seemed more like 'inability to reach high'. Sheng Ying's students would be led to believe that they were unable to overcome the false records set by questionable geniuses from other elite schools. What exactly could be done? She had better contact the report publishers to find out what had caused the school's omission in the records.

Over in the MIT room, 007 dialed Yuan Lan Ying's number.

"Hello?"

"Hi, this is Zhan Shi De speaking..."

There was a brief pause before she continued, "Oh, what's the matter? I'm about to go for my class..."

He returned, "Sorry, just that yesterday, something happened to your CD. A big part of information in there was lost."

She gave a sigh, "It's been so long...I really don't have any other CD with me..."

007 gathered she didn't sound happy at all, "We understand that...we won't force you to remember...only to share with us what you're able to..."

There was another longer duration of silence. Her delayed response inadvertently let 007 overheard a third party rushing her loudly at the other end. She then hastily told that she would find a time to give him a call back before hanging up.

It only made 007 suspect why she suddenly turned into an unfriendly person. Still, what he had overheard raised his curiosity. Not long, Tian Mo Xing showed up and asked him when they will be seeing Yuan Lan Ying again.

007 went over to the computer, "Unfortunately, she hung up before I ask her when's a convenient time."

She pouted and sat down, "So what shall we do now?"

He turned to her, "Before I can be sure, there's a need to look up something..."

Tian Mo Xing switched her gaze to the monitor, "St Mary's website??"

007 skimmed through the homepage and read, "Deadline to submit entries for Tribute to Da Vinci's International Art Competition - 10th February..."

Tian Mo Xing's attention was aroused, "Art competition?? What coincidence! How about brother's painting?? Awww, if only we can submit on his behalf!"

"On his behalf?" 007 repeated.

She nodded, "Since it's an international competition, then it's possible that they already knew about this over in the States. Anyway, mom just told me last night that brother spent weeks in choosing which painting to be sent to us...so I think it may not be a good idea to submit without his consent..."

What Tian Mo Xing revealed struck some thought in him. He asked again, "Do you mean that your brother had the painting done weeks ago??"

She affirmed, "Of course...something came up in your mind?"

007 went on to explain, "If it's like what you said, there shouldn't be any need for your brother to make use of cobalt drier. I observed it has been applied in excess on the painting. Weeks should be enough for the whole thing to dry...Tian Mo Xing, did you check your delivery slip?"

"Oh," she grabbed her bag and searched its pockets. "Should be here," she took out some bits of paper.

"A painting should be at least dry enough for it to be sent overseas...and the time it takes to be delivered here shall give us some clues," 007 deduced.

"Ah, this one! Gosh, 007, it was sent only the week before...but there's no address mentioned," Tian Mo Xing realised late.

He thought over and decided to call the competition organising committee's hotline after checking that Yuan Lan Ying's name was under the list of contestants.

"Hello? Is there any way possible for a scan of contestants' entries be put up on the website?" 007 inquired.

The person on the line replied soberly that they were not able to. The most 007 could do was to ask for a short description of Yuan Lan Ying's entry.

"It's titled 'Ladders of Multitude'," she answered with clarity.


	70. Chapter 70: Foretelling Art

Yuan Lan Ying led them up the stairs and down the hallway before stopping in front of the door to a room. She appeared a little hesitant before opening it and told them to go inside.

The MIT gang together with Miss Cherry entered. Once in the room, what directly met their eyes caused them to marvel in awe. They looked at the painting with admiration.

Catching up with them, Yuan Lan Ying was even more disturbed at the effects the painting have on her, "All I can say is...'sorry'...This had been kept hidden from you people for a while...but as I said, I was unsure of all of your reactions..."

Tian Mo Xing took a step forward and touched the painting, "So this one's real...surely it's more emotional and...expressive..."

Miss Cherry turned to Yuan Lan Ying, "Since you've shown this to us at last, I can still count on believing you once again..."

The girl could now return with a smile of relief, "Miss Cherry, thanks...As Lu Ke Ying is not attached to any school presently, he's not eligible to participate in the competition. Moreover, being a patient under the care of a registered psychiatrist has already deemed him disqualified. Now, as I'm not related to him in any way and we're this far away from each other, the competition organisers won't be able to find out he's the one who did the painting."

"Then, does brother know about you submitting on behalf?" Tian Mo Xing asked.

She nodded, "I have already sought his permission..."

"How did you contact him?" Miss Cherry questioned curiously.

"Through texting. I'm aware of his lack of verbal response to everyone around him," Yuan Lan Ying disclosed.

Miss Cherry thought about her answer and so did Tian Mo Xing. Both didn't expect Yuan Lan Ying and Lu Ke Ying keeping in touch without their family's knowing. While they were still indulged in pondering, 007's comment about the painting broke off their train of thoughts. He added, "Even though this version and the one we have appear similar, something is still amiss..."

"Amiss?? Did I fail to make an exact replication??" Yuan Lan Ying uttered confusedly.

He nodded in response and pointed out, "It's the background...upon closer look, this one has faint outlines of computers trapped inside frozen ice. They blend perfectly well with the misty foreground..."

"Huh?!" Tian Mo Xing, Miss Cherry with 187 and 747 started scratching their heads in bafflement.

"How could it be?" Yuan Lan Ying frowned in disbelief and studied more intently.

"007, are you sure? I don't see anything like you said," 747 found it hard to tell despite looking at the painting longer.

"Yeah, what ice cubes?? Looks more like marshmallows," Tian Mo Xing said blurly.

"Ha...ladders and computers...it's like trying to tell a story really," 187 conjectured.

"Eh, 187, you saw those too??" Miss Cherry was amazed.

He switched to a neutral expression, "Well, actually no..."

Miss Cherry's face fell, averting her attention back to the painting. Yuan Lan Ying then agreed after realisation, "Zhan Shi De is right, I have missed them miserably..."

The rest just moved closer to the painting to figure out. Still, they moaned aloud at their unsuccessful inspection.

"Just where are they?!" Tian Mo Xing was losing her patience and so did 187 and 747. Miss Cherry, on the other hand, had her cellphone suddenly ringing. She hurriedly answered, "Hello Dad?!" She checked the time, "What's wrong? Isn't it late night over there?"

Principal Tao sighed heavily, "I have just been back to our hotel a while ago. Sorry Xiao Tao, I'm afraid it's going to be tough communicating online these days on..."

"Why?!" Miss Cherry was taken aback.

"Alot of internet access locations, including this hotel we're staying right now, are having problems with their computers...no one knows the cause yet...It's mind-boggling...we can only talk through our phones then," he tiredly explained.

"Problem with computers?" Miss Cherry turned somber. The others looked on with questioning curiosity.


	71. Chapter 71: Unknown Origins

"A major number of states in the US are now faced with the seriousness of the situation. However, it appears that overseas, the problem is soon spreading across countries. The cause is still unknown. Cities in Mexico, the UK, France, Germany, Japan, Italy,....."

Miss Cherry paused the newsclip and lamented, "What kind of a phenomenon is this?! Network connections broken, computers continuously freezing, information lost, systems corrupted,...what next?"

Tian Mo Xing added, "Now I understood more about the frozen computers in brother's painting...could be related to the current situation..."

Miss Cherry rubbed her temples in frustration, "The thing I'm wondering is, whether the scope of this happening is worldwide....whether Taiwan will succumb to this...we've come across so far close to hundreds of news reports similar to what we've just watched within a day..."

007 figured, "I guess there's only one nature that can spread at this alarming rate."

"What's that?" everyone asked simultaneously.

"Virus," he stressed.

"Hmm...what strain of a virus could it be?" 187 mimicked 007's sober tone.

747 could not stand his pretence, "Of course computer virus, we humans are all fine and healthy in this case!"

Miss Cherry urged, "Wait a minute 007, didn't you say that you were trying to find out the US-based IP?? Here, come and check if its network with our computer is active right now...Perhaps we can find out more this way." She got up and quickly lent him the seat.

He went over and opened the network log, "It's not at this moment, but I can sort of trace out more information using a program that's newly-available."

As they waited for him, 187 seemed to come up with a possibility and snapped, "If the problem is rampant in the US now, this sneaky mastermind could be facing a problem...But if not, then he or she might be the creator of the disaster!"

747 butted in, "Then, we should get our hands on this troublemaker as soon as we can!"

007 agreed, "This program managed to offer us some details - the IP could be tied to a location in Phoenix, Arizona, US and the ISP is a company called CalTek Communications..."

Miss Cherry gathered, "So we should make used of these information to track down the whereabouts of this suspect and get this mystery solved quick..."


	72. Chapter 72: Blank Transfer

In a spacious meeting room, every member of the board of directors were waiting rather impatiently. It has been over an hour since Miss Cherry painstakingly explained that there was a huge problem with the latest statistical reports she was supposed to elaborate on and that the right copies should be delivered to them soon. Now, after quite a long while, even Miss Cherry herself was finding it hard to trust the promise given by the publications representative.

Without help, one of the directors spoke up, "Miss Tao, I really don't see any point in wait....." A sudden knock on the door cut back his words.

Miss Cherry's secretary entered with a pile of folders presumably containing the documents which everyone wanted.

Miss Cherry quickly offered a hand in distributing those folders to each person in attendance.

"I'm sorry, these are the actual reports which I mentioned we will be discussing about. Please have a look," she explained.

Everyone started flipping open the folders. However, what they saw was contrary to Miss Cherry's expectations.

"How come?!" she gasped in disbelief. All who had been given the folders looked to her for a much-needed clarification. It turned out that only blank sheets of paper were being sent.

Over in the school's cafeteria, 007 had gotten Tian Mo Xing some dessert while waiting for her. As he gazed about and didn't manage to spot her presence, he thought for a moment before taking out his cellphone to call a number.

Perhaps he was too engrossed in what he was doing that any detectable change going on infront of him was not apparent at all.

"Has anyone taken this seat here?" a clear princess-like voice uttered.

007 was wondering why his call was not answered just like many times before that he didn't bother to offer a glance. He merely answered, "No..."

"Really? I thought you maybe saving this seat for someone you're waiting for..." she smiled.

007 decided not to pursue further and to bring over the pair of strawberry crepes to the MIT room. He got up, then stopped short. From a side glance, he realised who had actually sat down opposite from him seconds ago. Turning around, his gaze met her engaging-looking face. He was utterly confounded, "Lin Yu Jie(007's ex-girlfriend)??"

She laughed in being able to surprise him greatly, "Nice to meet you again, Zhan Shi De,...or shall I say, Pi Li MIT's dependable member, 007??"

"Why are you here?" he questioned.

She shrugged, "Well, I have been selected to represent my school to join the district's annual orchestra performance...Sheng Ying will be providing a place for other participating musicians and I to do our intensive practice over the next few weeks here...I've been exempted from school attendance due to this. Nice arrangement, don't you think??"


	73. Chapter 73: Opponent's Arrival

"Oh My Oh My Oh My...I have never dreamt that Lin Yu Jie is actually the author of this book...now that she's finally revealed to be the one...My heart...Oh how it hurts," Tian Mo Xing wailed aloud and clasped her hands together to brace the hard-hitting emotional impact.

187 shook his head upon seeing her so let down, "Our rose amongst the thorns, don't fret...I'll lend you a shoulder to cry on then..." He patted off imaginary dust from his blazer.

747 only glared at him indignantly, "Hey 187, can't you see that she has to face a harsh truth?"

"Oh," he smirked. "So you're not in the least mindful?"

"Huh??" 747 was suddenly blank.

187 only pretended to ignore and turned back to Tian Mo Xing, "I guess you're doubting at this moment whether to let your love rival sign the book, which is also a thing you've been treasuring for so long??"

Tian Mo Xing sat down and pouted, "What shall I do now? I feel so crushed all of a sudden..." She sighed heavily.

187 placed a hand on her shoulder, "At a crucial time such as this, the more you retreat, the more opportunities you will lose out...Trust this advice from a relationships expert like me, just press forth with courage!"

She looked at him indecisively, "You sure??"

He nodded with an assuring smile, "As for 007's whereabouts in the upcoming days, the instant when he happens to meet up with Lin Yu Jie, whether intentionally or unintentionally, we will keep you informed of the latest updates in details the best that we can."

747 quickly interrupted, "Hey...you said 'we'...so us - you and I??"

187 snapped back, "Of course! How can you be so dense?"

747 was disappointed in that he might not be able to keep Tian Mo Xing accompany that often then.

Tian Mo Xing thought over what was said, then nodded with determination, "Okay then, I'll be brave...not losing out to someone like her!!"

"All the best," 187 gave a light pat, expressing his support.

Down the hallway, 007 was reflecting back on his conversation with Lin Yu Jie a while ago. Her reappearance was indeed totally unexpected, which triggered a bunch of questions popping up one after another in his mind. Why at such a timing? The other day, when he took out the old flute he had kept aside for so long, he did entertain the instinct that the past might come revisiting him one of these days...

Flashback...

She took a step closer, "Zhan Shi De, this is really a golden opportunity for us both...I hope you can join me as well in delivering a remarkable performance. You have immense talent. Don't miss this, please..."

He only offered her a wavering gaze, unsure of what answer he should return her at the moment...

End of Flashback...

In the principal's office, Miss Cherry settled in her seat with anger rising uncontrollably, "Just what's that Mr Zhang up to nowadays? Hiding the real truth from everyone and caused all fury to be directed towards me alone!!"

Sandy quickly handed her a glass of cooling ice drink, "So sorry Miss Tao...I should have checked everything before giving them out."

Miss Cherry turned to her doubtfully, "You're sure that you did not look over those blank papers before rushing to the meeting?"

She simply answered, "Yes, Miss Tao...I really had no time to make sure. Added to that, Mr Zhang stressed that everything's set to go..."

Miss Cherry sighed, "Okay, okay...I don't have that much of strength to investigate further."

There was tensed silence that followed as Sandy still remained in the office, as though waiting for a cue after allowing Miss Cherry a brief moment to relax. When she noted her secretary's awkward expression, she had to ask, "What's wrong??"

She stammered, "Errr...I received a call from the district's Beethoven Music Society informing that we will play host to the approaching annual orchestra performance concert."

Miss Cherry instantly sat bolt upright, "What?! Are you serious?! At a time like this, they expect us to arrange a venue for over a hundred musicians at last minute?!" Now, she would be facing another tough task.


	74. Chapter 74: Fretful News

"The problem causing nearly over one billion computers from various countries freezing without end has been discovered to be the spreading of a virus named FindMe. Experts have traced its origins to countless email messages sent, downloads from websites and links transmitted through popular instant mesengers which mimick a number of trusted news sources providing false headlines..." Miss Cherry read aloud to everyone one of the mass email messages she had received.

"Wow, it's really it," 187 remarked on the side.

"I'm wondering," 747 added thoughtfully. "If we're able to catch our so-called first suspect from the US..."

"Oh, here 007, your turn to check," Teacher Cherry hurriedly gave up the computer.

He looked up the log entries, "Now the IP is coming from somewhere in New York."

"Huh?" Miss Cherry felt strange. "Wait, I get the sense that..."

"Miss Cherry, how's the situation in New York now? Is the virus problem increasingly serious there?" 747 asked eagerly.

"Yup!" She finally snapped after some thought. "Father just told me the other day that they're currently visiting New York to make some ammendments to their travel documents. I'll call him now!" Digging out her cellphone, she quickly dialed his number.

"Hello Dad!" Her call was answered unusually fast.

"Xiao Tao?! Oh, it's you," Principal Tao sounded sort of panicky.

Miss Cherry was curiously worried, "What's wrong, Dad??"

His tone did not improve at all, "I don't know why, but Ke Ying has gone missing since this morning..."

"How come?!" Miss Cherry was thoroughly shocked.

"It just happened so fast, we were at the embassy...It was so crowded and jam-packed with people on every side. We thought he was following closely behind us, but with just a blink of an eye, he was gone!" Principal Tao was about to break into tears.

Miss Cherry was at a lost, "Okay...don't worry dad...Did you report to the police?"

"Yes, we did...they're helping us..."

Miss Cherry spent quite some moments to assure and comfort him that things would be alright before hanging up feeling even worse herself.

"Miss Cherry, unfortunate incidents do happen...Don't get too stressed out," 187 consoled.

"That's right," 747 encouraged. "The police over in the US are more capable than those we have here...They'll find him for sure..."

Miss Cherry took a deep breath to calm herself, "I don't know, what comes to mind at first instant is that...has his missing anything to do with the culprit we're currently suspecting...'Cause couldn't he be likely the mastermind who had made used of Ke Ying to start mysterious games in this school before...This person...and the situation now is not that simple..."

007 agreed with her point of view, "They're both in New York...I'll proceed to try hacking into CalTek client database to see if any useful info is available."

Miss Cherry sighed, "Oh goodness...Why are bad events following one after another?" 187 then brought a cup of warm water to help her ease up a little.

She thanked him and took a sip. Soon, she realised what was strikingly amiss, "Where's Tian Mo Xing? I don't see her..."

747 replied, "She has gone to the book-autographing session." He then glanced at 007 briefly with implication.

"Oh," she gathered. "Think it's for the better...I don't want her to worry too much in the meantime. Can you guys keep this news of brother's missing from her for the meantime first?"

They all considered her request and together promised to not let Tian Mo Xing know.

Over at the school's front hall, Tian Mo Xing did not expect in the least that she would be the last in line to get her book signed. Lin Yu Jie's book turned out to be selling like hotcakes as it shot to the first place of the top sales chart.

When she finally walked up to the table and presented her copy of the book before Lin Yu Jie, she could not help feeling overwhelmed by her rival's status.

"Long time no see, Li Xiao Xing," she gave a slight unfeeling smile.

"Yeah," Tian Mo Xing found it hard to face her.

Lin Yu Jie merely continued, "You never would have thought that I'm the author of this inspiring book, do you??"

"Right," Tian Mo Xing only answered briefly.

"What's wrong?" Lin Yu Jie was amused in some way. "I thought the chatty Li Xiao Xing from before will have much to say than a one-word answer??"

Tian Mo Xing now felt offended, "Yup, I admit that I'm intimidated but there's really not much I'm able to say..."

She put on a wry smile again, "But that's not the case with me...I remember very clearly all you've told me the last time...I'm ready for this challenge now...Also, you should be extremely aware that my written work has bits and pieces of a love story here and there...I won't keep this from you so I have to tell that the model leading guy in my book is none other than Zhan Shi De...as for the lead girl..."

Tian Mo Xing looked at her curiously as she wondered about Lin Yu Jie's answer.

Lin Yu Jie got up from her seat and handed the autographed book back to Tian Mo Xing, "Sorry, I'm quite busy...Until next time, good luck!!" She then left the spot without giving a second look.


	75. Chapter 75: Earnest Requests

"One strawberry parfait, please," 007 ordered upon arriving at the cafeteria.

"Just as what I've expected," a familiar girl's voice uttered from behind. She walked up to his side.

007 turned to her, "How come it's only you??"

Lin Yu Jie smiled, "So if she's not going to show up as I've mentioned in the text message, you're going to leave??"

007 glanced around, then told the counter-attendant to make his order as a take-out.

"Zhan Shi De! Are you really not giving us both a chance??" Lin Yu Jie questioned in an offended tone.

"Thanks," 007 expressed after being handed the dessert in a container. He prepared to leave.

"007!!" Lin Yu Jie called out to stop him.

He paused as she took some steps forward, sounding hurt, "So you really like the way Li Xiao Xing addresses you...I understand now...But I ought to tell you, that I have finally managed to compose my first song..."

Upon hearing such, 007 turned around to face her.

She went on, "I still remember...those days when you taught me the flute...And I want to bet on this...If you still will not turn up for the orchestra concert's press conference tomorrow, I'm going to give up and not ever to publicise my composition at any chance...The reason is I'm able to do so because of you. You're my life along this musical journey we share together, Zhan Shi De."

007 has to ponder about what was said before giving a nod of acknowledgement.

From a corner of a nearby table, 187 and 747 have been eavesdropping all the while wearing on thick-framed glasses and holding up newspapers to prevent themselves from being noticed.

In her office, Miss Cherry received a call back from one of the directors, Mr Lee.

"Hello, yes..." she began. "I was thinking of asking you that since suspected FindMe virus attacks have been reported by some households, whether it will be alright if I temporarily shut off parts of the school's network connections just to be on the safe side?"

There was a pause from the other end before he replied soberly, "Miss Tao, aren't you aware that Sheng Ying is confirmed to host the widely-celebrated annual orchestra concert? The media is now focused solely on our school. They won't bother but write about Sheng Ying in any situation they are able to catch us. Added to that, the disappointing statistics reports we discussed about during last meeting will be released to the public soon...It's time to build up reputation more than letting reporters saying we're cowards afraid of the FindMe virus!"

"But those reports are mislead-..." Miss Cherry retorted but was cut back.

"No buts, Miss Tao," Mr Lee interrupted. "I have heard that a considerable number of classrooms have already been allocated for the musicians' use...We really can't put a stop to the online network. It's gonna cause too much unnecessary inconvenience. Moreover, I should tell you that the rest of the directors and I are deciding to approve the famous tycoon, Francis Zeng's generous investment in Sheng Ying. If all goes well, his suggestions for the implementation of changes to the school's structure as an educational institution will be strongly considered in the next meeting. The reason why we've come to this stage is because of the continuous unsatisfactory statistics reports we received. Our students are clearly failing us..."

Miss Cherry now sensed the urgency of the situation. As worries came upon her again, she received another call again.

"Hello, Miss Cherry?" It was Yuan Lan Ying.

"Oh, thank you so much for calling back...So how's it, Lan Ying? Did you manage to contact Ke Ying?" It was as if her spirits were being lifted up again after sinking bottom-low.

"I did, Miss Cherry..."

"Oh, thank God," Miss Cherry exclaimed.

Yuan Lan Ying continued, "He sent me a text message saying that he's now very safe...But the weird thing is he talked about a countdown and that it's 5 days remaining...I'll get it forwarded to you now!"

"Okay, appreciate your help!" Miss Cherry expressed gratefully.


	76. Chapter 76: Wavering Decision

The next day when it's time for the conert's press conference to commence, Tian Mo Xing, together with 187 and 747 turned up just to be sure if 007 will be attending as part of the group of performing musicians.

As they stood at a far corner, Tian Mo Xing was getting increasingly curious and apprehensive while the seconds ticked by.

In spite of all those assuring talk by 747 and 187, 007 did somehow arrived alongside Lin Yu Jie. They walked up to the stage together.

747 was so angry and made a fist, "That irresponsible fellow...I should go teach him a lesson!!" He was about to rush to the front impulsively when Tian Mo Xing and 187 have to stop him.

Not long, it was time for the reporters to start interviewing them. Interestingly, alot of attention was focused on Li Yu Jie and 007 when they were asked numerous questions.

In her reply, Lin Yu Jie expressed with delight, "At this point, I can say with confidence that I will be offering a certain surprise for my performance. And the reason that I'm able to do so is because of tremendous courage given me by a very special person in my life..."

"Just what rubbish!" 747 muttered under his breath.

Then, everyone seemed to be wondering about what she told. The camera was consequently directed towards 007. He only commented briefly, "Ermm...I'm very honoured to be participating in this concert." Lin Yu Jie turned to him and smiled with gladness.

From a far end, Tian Mo Xing was deeply saddened as a result.

When they have gone back to the counselling room without 007, Miss Cherry was already there.

She didn't look at all happy either, "Everyone, we have discovered something again..."

The three of them appeared not in the least alert unlike before and merely waited for her to reveal.

"Oopps," Miss Cherry corrected herself. "I shouldn't say 'we', it's 007 who had actually done the job..."

"Really," 747 didn't sound too pleased in any way. "Just what's going on in his rather complex brain??"

"Okay now," Miss Cherry tried to call for their attention. "The mass email message we've received on the other day about the FindMe virus...was in fact sent by this mastermind we've been trying hard to track down...007 left a note for us here...I double-checked its source and turns out it's true indeed."

187 and 747 quickly went over to the computer, except for Tian Mo Xing, who remained at where she was and could not be bothered.

"Hmmm...007, always doing his homework on time," 187 remarked dryly.

"Also," Miss Cherry added further. "He has placed here the biodata of that suspicious tycoon, Francis Zeng, which I have been trying hard to find."

They all went through the file which 007 gathered. 747 was quick to spot, "He's a St Mary's alumnae..."

Miss Cherry nodded, "I have also checked through the reports sent me, noticing the position ranks which were supposed to be rightfully held by our school were listed as St Mary's instead. So I deduce that his decision to invest in Sheng Ying may have harmful intentions."

"That serious, now the virus outbreak hasn't even been solved, situations have turned out this way," 747 said with worry.

Miss Cherry checked her watch, "I have to go for the meeting with those directors again. Hopefully, fate may not be that cruel with us and I'll have better news to share with you guys tomorrow..."

Before she left, Miss Cherry saw that her sister was strangely quiet in her seat. "Ah yes!" she gasped and went over to a shelf in the far corner.

She brought out something for Tian Mo Xing, "007 has also left this box of strawberry flavoured ice-cream cake for you...There's also a note attached. Don't forget to read it, okay?" She then bade goodbye to everyone before rushing on her way.

Tian Mo Xing hesitated but still opened the box. She took out a piece of note inside it and read, "Hope you'll like this...Don't skip your breakfast again...I'm sorry for everything but please continue to put your trust in me...Love, 007..."

187 stooped down to her level and assured, "Don't worry, I can tell that there's something pressured on him by Lin Yu Jie, causing his decision to join the concert. 007 will always have you in his heart."

Tian Mo Xing turned to him despondently and couldn't help but shed a tear.


	77. Chapter 77: Denied Issue

With a whole lot of 007's time taken up by concert practice, the MIT gang could not help but felt that a significant part of themselves was always missing. To Tian Mo Xing, 007 seemed to have disappeared ever since the day of watching him from afar during the press conference. Based on the efforts of both 187 and 747, it was discovered that 007 had been spending time with Lin Yu Jie and other musicians in the studio. Lu Ke Ying was still missing, leaving the family immensely worried. The only source of info about him they could gather was yet another daily SMS sent to Yuan Lan Ying. However, on this day, he has also sent the same message to Principal Tao's and Teacher Angel's cellphones. He only mentioned that the mysterious countdown left with 3 days. Miss Cherry has been extremely busy caught up with unsolved matters of the school as well as hectic arrangement of a suitable concert venue. Time was a limiting factor for her to figure a way out of every problem.

At this moment, arriving in school for the day, she has to make a call while in the rush. "Hello Dad? Have you talk to the publications representative, Mr Zhang? I have told you that he was not willing to meet up with me to discuss..." Miss Cherry spoke through the phone.

On the other end of the line, Principal Tao returned with a sigh, "Yes, Xiao Tao...We're still busy looking for Ke Ying...That's why I have forgotten to get back to you. Mr Zhang talked to me, but he was really tight-lipped. He said that he did not see the need to amend the report. When I mentioned to him about Francis Zeng, he only said that he's now a rather influential figure in the area of publishing business...Goodness, I need to charge this phone's battery again....."

"Anything else, Dad?? Hello??" Miss Cherry realised the line was abruptly cut off.

Upon reaching the principal's office, Miss Cherry didn't have much of a time to take a deep breath before she saw the day's newspaper lying on her desk. The headlines was none other than about the spreading of FindMe virus amongst a considerable number of households in Taiwan. What she dreaded most came true. After reading the articles, Miss Cherry could at least be relieved that it has not happened in any school yet.

A knock was heard. "Come in," she called out.

Sandy entered, "Miss Tao, there's something very important I need to let you know..."

"Go ahead," she allowed.

She was hesitant for a moment before continuing, "Almost every student and staff member's computer in the dormitory block was reported to be infected with FindMe virus..."

"What?!" Miss Cherry stood up instantly. "How did that happen??"

Her secretary replied, "I have arranged for computer technicians to look into the situation. But as of now, all of them have yet to find out the cause...only suggesting there's a major leak in the school's network connection..."

Miss Cherry sighed with frustration and dialed Mr Lee's number without delay.

"Hello Mr Lee...I believe it's really time for us to shut down completely the school's network system by now. We've caught the virus already!"

He only remarked somberly, "Miss Tao, are you gonna risk Sheng Ying's reputation and have the whole world label us as the first school in Taiwan to be infected with the virus? Can I have you fully responsible for all its resulting consequences??"

Miss Cherry retorted, "I'm only playing it safe...and to protect Sheng Ying...Unlike you people who can risk this school to pave the way for that crazy tycoon to turn Sheng Ying into a ruthless financial institution!!"

Mr Lee paused a little before replying, "Look, Miss Tao, we directors know what we are doing. No one knows what's gonna happen in the future. Sheng Ying's status has been literally going down the drain for the past months..."

"But, Mr Lee, those reports are really not....." Miss Cherry's voice trailed off as he merely hung up without warning.

Now, she's at a lost on what to do and simply slammed the receiver in a fit of rage and helplessness. She breathed hard to calm herself. Then, stepping towards the window, she drew the blinds open. Hoping to find some sense of relief in the rays of sunshine that seeped in, Miss Cherry wondered more and more. Staring through the glass panel and then down at the open ground level of the building, she caught sight of a huge newspaper delivery truck with crowds of people approaching from various directions. They were to pick up their copies of the daily.

Miss Cherry pondered further. It appeared that out of the whole situation, newspaper publishers benefited tremendously from increased sales. Come to think of it, she also suspected why none of the computer experts worldwide has managed to figure a way to solve the virus problem. After so long, could there be a hidden business going on behind everyone's back preventing their efforts? All these just so newspapers could sell millions of times better??

Miss Cherry sharply spotted Tian Mo Xing's petite figure below as she ran up quickly to the deliveryman to collect yet another tall pile of newspapers.


	78. Chapter 78: Bright Dawning

A day had passed without much improvement of the situation. In fact, it has escalated. It's early in the morning and 747 decided to show up early to try his luck in solving the issue at hand. He headed to the counselling room but found the door locked. The lights inside were still on.

"Just what's going on??" he wondered and attempted to open without success. "Gosh, don't tell me Tian Mo Xing couldn't cope with 007's disappearance and lock up herself??"

He then called out, "Tian Mo Xing, hang in there!" He made used of his great strength to kick the door open.

It did work but the person alone inside was 007 instead.

"Ouch," he grimaced due to the slight pain caused. "Hey, how come it's you in here?" 747 demanded.

"Why not me?" 007 returned nonchalantly.

747 also noticed more than a dozen empty cups on the computer table. The room also smelled strongly of coffee. "Did you stay here all night?" he went over to him. There were rolls and rolls of the previous Lu Ke Ying's program code lying everywhere.

"Hmmm..." 747 put on his thinking cap. "From the emotional aspect of it, I see that you're trying to hide from Lin Yu Jie, probably so you didn't return to your dorm last night...On the other hand, you must have discovered something for the virus case but there's no more network connection available in the dorm so you have to come here," he cleverly figured out.

007 took a sip of his last full cup of coffee, "The online mastermind has sent us a series of new program code since last night. I've studied them thoroughly...should be a remedy for the FindMe virus...a way for computers infected to be healed."

"Really, then it's definitely the dawn of a new hope," 187 stepped in and hurried over to their side.

"Oh dear, I've been wishing for this day like forever!" Miss Cherry also arrived right after 187.

They all watched on earnestly as 007 continued with his speedy typing. He said, "The code which Lu Ke Ying supplied at first needed only to be modified at certain crucial parts according to these new ones provided and we're set to go. Now I'm waiting for the last batch of file to be sent here..."

After some time, they received an incoming message. 007 then saw, "Password needed - Hint: 1968."

"Huh? At a time like this?" 187 uttered with dissatisfaction.

All of a sudden, the screen blacked out and the computer subsequently frozed.

"Oh my, don't tell me it's the virus attack?" 747 lamented. "Just where is that nuisance coming from?!"

007 considered, "Must be it...but don't worry, I've saved the message in this pendrive...Now, all we need is to find a working computer and crack the password."

They all started thinking. "1968...1968...," Miss Cherry repeated and forced herself to come up with something. "It's the year that Sheng Ying was founded and...and...I just got this gut feeling...whenever I'm on my way here, there's this room right across...Yes, it's also room 1968 - the old school president's room!!"

747 found it confusing, "So what has that room got?"

"Oh, it's nearest to where we are to get a working computer, hurry guys, perhaps we can get more clues from there!" Miss Cherry rushed them all.

When they've got into the room, 007 quickly turned on the age-old computer. Fortunately, it's still working and untouched by the deadly virus. However, they tried entering all sorts of combinations for the password but still failed.

"Just what is this guy trying to do? Lure us to a solution and then trick us again?" 747 complained indignantly.

They were cracking their brains heavily and waited for better ideas when 007 became suddenly aware of a piece of mirror affixed to the wall beside the computer. The view from an angle caused him to catch sight of a numbered sticker stuck to computer's monitor on one side. The figures were, "2400."

Something struck 007's mind instantly, "The password fits four digits and '2400' is the sum of the numbers 1, 9, 6 and 8. He quickly entered and indeed the file could be opened at last.

"Oh! 007, you're amazing!" Miss Cherry cheered. They have now access to the full code needed.

"Wait a minute," 187 urged. "There's a link to a message...An article entitled 'Back to News-On-Paper secret movement'...A newly-discovered dark strategy to raise printed newspaper sales worldwide and found out to be the sole cause of FindMe virus spreading everywhere. In Taiwan, a millionaire businessman known at the meantime only by the initials F.Z. is a heavy investor in this underground exchange..."

"Oh, should be Francis Zeng!!" Miss Cherry gasped.

"Obviously, but look here...The world-famous Whizter prize will be awarded to the first person, regardless of nationality, who is able to come up with a cure for the virus..."

"Let's check this code to see if it can heal an infected computer," 007 removed the pendrive and hurried out of the room. The rest also did the same fast. However, at the doorway, he accidentally stepped on a slip of paper. 007 picked it up, only to made out that it has Dr James and another person's name printed on it.

"007, what are you waiting for??" 747 called out steps infront of him. He quickly went ahead to catch up with them in the MIT room.

Back before the frozen computer, 007 replaced the pendrive. They waited for a while and when everyone really witnessed the system restored back to normal, all four were overjoyed.

"007, I have to admit, you're the hero this time!" 187 confessed and gave him a big pat on the back.

Just then, each of their bluetooth earpiece received a signal.

"Hey, 747, 187, can you guys help me out?!" It was Tian Mo Xing. "That literature teacher had me carrying one heavy stack of newspapers again. All computers can't access news websites...Please come over..."

"Alright," 187 and 747 answered simultaneously. After her voice faded out, they oth turned to 007.

He realised both of their expressions spoke of something. Miss Cherry smiled and encouraged, "Go 007, she's more than anything else waiting for you alone. We'll take care of the rest of this and send the code over to Whizter's Prize committee as soon as possible...Tian Mo Xing needs you!"

He smiled promisingly and turned about to leave with a quicken pace.


	79. Chapter 79: Resolution

"Oh, just what's taking those two guys so long...," Tian Mo Xing protested as she trotted down the hallway with both hands full of newspapers. Turning around a corner fast, the topmost sheet fell onto the floor. "Ha, what luck!!" She has to set down the tall stack and bent over to pick it up. Yet, just as she was about to lay her hand on it, someone did so before her.

"Here," he offered back to her.

His voice sounded particularly calm this morning. Tian Mo Xing lifted her gaze and 007's presence did a marvellous job in sending relief her way. But, of course she didn't want to admit at such a moment.

She got back to the newspapers but he reached out to stop her before she went on the carry the stack.

"It will be better for me to do it instead," he said and took those papers.

Tian Mo Xing hid a smile, "Don't you have to go for the concert practice?"

"There're exceptions to obeying rules everyday," he answered.

She abruptly stopped walking and turned to face him.

007 did the same, 'What's wrong??"

She took a step closer to him, "You said there're exceptions to rules...So put down the newspapers..."

He only gave her a quizzical stare. Tian Mo Xing has to lift the stack off his hands and put them down. She then hastily grabbed his hand and led them both running down the corridor and a flight of stairs.

Not long, they reached a certain corner and she stopped, asking if he remembered where were they at this minute.

He thought for a while and stated, "We were trapped here during Valentine's day a year ago."

Tian Mo Xing was so glad that he managed to recall. She lunged forward to hug him tight, "007, you're still my only 007, are you??"

He smiled, "I will always ever be..."

She pulled apart and looked up at his pair of tender eyes. He reached into his side pocket and took out something for her.

"Tomorrow's concert's VIP ticket??" she was surprised.

He nodded, "It's closest to the stage...so you can watch clear enough..."

She was grateful, "Thank you, I'm really happy."

He pulled her towards himself again, "I should say thank you too, for trusting in me when I had not been by your side...Tian Mo Xing, let us anticipate another meaningful Valentine's day again this year..."

She nodded fervently against the warmth of his chest. Being this close to him, she could literally listen to the passionate beating of his heart. 007 was thankful that their bond was still as strong as ever. He kissed her temple as they both revelled in each other's embrace.


	80. Chapter 80: Moving Victory

On the day of the concert, the many musicians and attendees were gathered at the largest auditorium in Sheng Ying. Everyone was anticipating the event with excitement. Tian Mo Xing arrived at the place with the ticket that 007 gave her the day before. She was led by the usher to the very centre of the front most row. As she took her seat, the atmosphere of the hall made her all the more overwhelmed. She could not believe that she managed to spot even some well-known celebrities and other important people in the society. Yet, one she most eager to spot deep inside was not in sight anywhere as of the moment so she decided to focus solely on the stage and waited eagerly.

Backstage, the performers were all caught up in last minute self-rehearsals. 007 soon arrived and amongst the people rushing about here and there, he tried to look for Lin Yu Jie. Soon, he was able to find her standing at a far corner. He hurried over and was about to call her when she has to answer a call.

"Okay, I know...," she uttered after a somewhat long silent conversation. This last response she spoke was all he could hear before she hung up and turned about to realise his presence.

She did not look up at him right away. Still inevitably, he saw a tear trickled down her cheek.

"You cried," he expressed.

She quickly wiped her eyes dry but could not bring herself to say anything.

He merely went on, "The reason why you're here today, is because of my Dad??"

She lifted her gaze, "You found out everything?"

He nodded, "He's the one who ultimately petitioned for Sheng Ying to host this concert and also generously written a review for your book to be sold successfully...All for the purpose of you to spend a significant period of time here..."

Her expression turned regretful, "Since you've known the story behind, I can't help but admit it. So great, I'm the loser in the end. You have ended this rollercoaster game for us.." She put on a defeated smile, "Sorry, I have caused you and Tian Mo Xing unnecessary troubles..."

"Lin Yu Jie, sorry...Please don't let this matter hinder your performance," 007 said with understanding.

She could not help but shed tears again. He offered her a tissue but instead of taking it, she stepped forward and hugged him. She then added, "Zhan Shi De, I really don't have the pure intention of coming back here in the first place...Thank you for forgiving me..."

He patted her hesitantly, "I see your honesty..."

She then pulled apart and wished with relief, "Good luck..."

"Same to you..."

Not long, the concert started. Although there was still some distance between the stage and the front row, Tian Mo Xing's sharp eyes managed to lay hold of 007's every move. Throughout the time, she was gazing with utter admiration at the way he played the piano so charmingly. He handled the keys with grace and his being so passionately absorbed in the wondrous melody produced were enough to caused her completely mesmerised by him.

For hours, moments of such went on in a way that Tian Mo Xing appeared to lose touch with the passing time. Not until when someone announced that there was going be a special conclusion to the day's concert that she was finally brought back to her senses. Then, a majority of the musicians left the stage until only 007, Lin Yu Jie and a few others remained.

Lin Yu Jie stepped further upfront and declared that she would be performing her first composition. She began to play with the other musicians backing her up.

As she listened, Tian Mo Xing could feel in a way the sorrowful expression of the song as well as from the sound of the flute music Lin Yu Jie seemed to hold close to her heart. Now that she heard, it was as though the identity of a rival Tian Mo Xing perceived slowly gave way to represent that of a vulnerable girl in need of consolation for the loneliness she has to face.

When Lin Yu Jie was done and made her exit together with the other musicians, Tian Mo Xing was surprised to see that 007 stood up from his seat at the grand piano with something in his hand gotten from a case placed on the floor.

"A flute too??" she noticed.

He then announced that he would also be performing his own composition dedicated to a person who held a very special place in his heart.

Tian Mo Xing now wondered even more of his words. She could not prevent doubts from surfacing but the instant he started playing, time lost its essence and stood still. In her heart, memories of them both together flashed forth continuously. During the good and the bad, the journey of this life they travelled by each other's side was as clear as a series of movie clips shown through every screen of their deepest emotions. Tears streamed down Tian Mo Xing's face as she followed soulfully his music. It was bittersweet and thrilling at the same time, entangled in the web of lasting happiness. She's all the more grateful the more she paid her total attention.

When 007 ended his song, he scanned quickly across the front row and managed to lock gaze with Tian Mo Xing's teary eyes, "I really would like to take this chance and say, if you desire so, I will keep on playing a new song for you each day because I love you, the Brightest Star of my life...Thank you..." He then bowed and left the stage...

Tian Mo Xing was taken aback and not long, an usher came up to her with a bouquet of lovely champagne roses. She saw a note with it that read, "The song's title is 'Tian Mo Xing's Bliss'..."

The concert finally concluded. Tian Mo Xing was wandering about attempting to look for 007. Once outside, she saw him with Lin Yu Jie heading towards her direction.

She smiled upon seeing them. Lin Yu Jie was the first to speak up, "Li Xiao Xing..."

Tian Mo Xing quickly congratulated, "You did a great job!!"

She nodded in acknowledgement, "Thank you...but I should say too, congratulations to you for winning our challenge..."

"Huh??" Tian Mo Xing was a little confused.

She only smiled back, "And I apologise for everything...I shall quit officially now..."

"Lin Yu Jie, why say so?" Tian Mo Xing felt terribly sorry for her too.

Lin Yu Jie then closed the distance between them to give Tian Mo Xing a hug, "I wish you both the best." After stepping back, she bade, "I'm sure 007 will tell you the whole story...Until we meet again, goodbye!!" She left them and went on her way.

Tian Mo Xing waved back, "Lin Yu Jie, you're indeed strong..."

007 grabbed her hand, "She is..."

"Ahh!!" Tian Mo Xing cried abruptly and pointed upwards to the sky. "007, an airplane..."

He saw it, "I remember you once ate up a 100th airplane..."

She turned to him, "So??"

He gave a smile, "You made a wish and told me you'll let me know your secret..."

She praised his great memory and they started walking. He then asked, "Want to know my secret of the day??"

She urged enthusiastically, "Hurry up and confess then!"

He reminded, "I mentioned before to you about the legend of the Flute Lady??"

It did not take Tian Mo Xing much time before she successfully recalled. He then went on, "She's actually my mother..."

Tian Mo Xing gasped, "Don't tell me the flute you played just now was given by her??"

He nodded, "And I knew there would be a live broadcast today, and that he would watch my performance...I just hope he got the message that Mother will still live on in my heart..."

Tian Mo Xing was touched, "007, I'm proud of you..." She then gave him a peck on the cheek. He was quite moved by her initiative and held her closer to lean against himself as they continued walking.


	81. Chapter 81: Identity Disclosure

"Oh great, I'm glad finally that Sheng Ying is free from the grasp of that Francis Zeng...He's detained for interrogation by the police," Miss Cherry said gratefully while reading the day's paper and savouring her bowl of well-loved instant noodles at the same time.

747 took a glance of the article beside her, "I see after all the arrests of the members of that secret newspaper movement worldwide, the storm is over now and everything in school will return to normal..."

187, on the other side of the table, was busy indulging in fixing his hair before a handmirror again and remarked in relief, "I can breathe some peace now..."

Miss Cherry nodded, "The directors are also more than willing to review our Pi Li MIT case reports now...only that, I'm still waiting for news from Ke Ying, Dad and Teacher Angel especially at this moment when they already met up with our online mastermind!"

While they're still talking, 007 and Tian Mo Xing entered.

"Hey, what's up?!" Tian Mo Xing called out with interest.

"Well, we're..." Miss Cherry was about to say when she suddenly remembered something 007 requested them to help out with. She saw him hurrying over to the computer. "Oh, 007,..." she set down her chopsticks.

He checked the scanner, "Is it done? Did the image magnification program work??"

Miss Cherry saw the sense of urgency in him and quickly went over, "I'm sure it did...Just open the file and see, 007..."

"Huh? Miss Cherry, you all got it this fast?? I want to see too," Tian Mo Xing sounded excited. 187 and 747 also got up and joined them at the computer.

007 opened the file obtained from scanning to a large size the slip of paper he had accidentally picked up at the doorway of room 1968 the other morning. They all noticed, "A hospital's name??"

He pondered for a moment before deciding to call the place to find out more. The rest could not help but observe 007 was unusually earnest to uncover the mystery behind that has to do with his father, Dr James.

After a while of serious-sounding conversation, 007 hung up with a heavy heart. Tian Mo Xing nudged him, "What's wrong, 007?"

He appeared all the more sober, then got up, "I'll go for my class now..." As he prepared to leave, Tian Mo Xing realised he told her the day before that he has no class this morning. Seeing 007 walking away and closed the door lightly, she could tell his sadness and disappointment. She was about to catch up to him when Miss Cherry suddenly exclaimed that the online mastermind has started an instant webcam communication program.

As the window in the computer opened to reveal a person facing them, Miss Cherry got a weird feeling until she recalled in astonishment, "Oh you are...Sheng Ying's founder, Sir Remus Chiang!!!"

The somewhat considerably-aged man they saw through the computer screen responded, "Hello, Miss Tao, I am very glad that you still remember me..."

"What?" 747 was confused. "Don't tell me you're the real mastermind we're looking for all this while??"

The old man chuckled, "Sorry for making you all suspicious for such a long long time..."

Tian Mo Xing was astounded as well, "Then, our dad, mom and brother...?"

He nodded, "Yup, they are in the mansion with me right now..."

187 frowned, "I don't understand...so you were behind all those heart-wrenching events which us MIT have been trying to solve?? Why for??"

He continued, "As the founder of Sheng Ying, I feel responsible for students' well-being, trying make things right for their lives and sense of identity in school. In many ways, troubles may be directing us to realise our individual's short-comings and imperfections...But I need a dependable helper to sort matters out with me...So Dr James and I entered into an agreement when he happened to be looking for a right school for his son, Zhan Shi De, now also known affectionately as 007 to you all...However, recently, he fell back on his word and decided to send him over here in the States to carry on his studies focused on American Literature. The purpose being to help with Dr James' own writing career and newly-started publishing company's business...However, after so many incidence and news about Sheng Ying, I decided well maybe, it's time to reach a conclusion..."

"Oh my..." Tian Mo Xing gasped and without second thought, rushed out of the room. The rest was taken aback by her impulse and called after her. Still, she did not give any heed.

Outside, she looked about for 007, only to find him crouched down close to the doorway of MIT room. She got down beside him, more than aware that he must have heard everything about their online conversation with Sir Remus Chiang.

"007," she uttered and reached out to his hand. "Are you okay??"

It's the first time that she caught sight of his eyes wet with tears. She moved closer to offer him a hug of comfort. He then choked, "You know, I told you that my father was adopted...The hospital clerk told me just now that Sir Remus Chiang is my biological grandfather..."

She knew he must be in an extremely disconcerted state this minute but nodded to assure, "It's okay...Heartaches will leave with time sooner or later...We will still have support and consolations given us..."


	82. Chapter 82: Worthwhile Journey

"Wow, my first time travelling this far!!" Tian Mo Xing cried excitedly, squeezing hard on the strap of her backpack.

007 came up from behind her, "Appears to be well-planned out somewhat..."

She turned to him with a smile which gradually faded. Pouting, she moaned, "But...but...I've never got on an airplane...now my heart's beating faster each passing minute...oh."

He smiled and reached out to grab her hands, "From this second onwards, I won't let go of my hand and you don't let go of yours too...Just rely on my presence by your side to overcome your fear of heights, okay??"

"Huh?" Tian Mo Xing uttered doubtfully. "I have a question..."

"What?"

She added sheepishly, "What if I need to go to the washroom??"

It made 007 felt uneasy right away. He frowned, "Then just turn to the power of our hearts' telepathy...while we go separate ways." He then released his grip on her hand and walked away with embarrassment. Tian Mo Xing has to chase after him, "Hey you!! Don't fall back on your word!!"

He stopped by an accessories store and browsed around. Tian Mo Xing trailed behind looking sour-faced. As she thought about what he last said, she quickly added, "007, what I felt from my heart's telepathic connection to yours is that this time we're heading to accept the Whizter Award, the moment onstage when the prize is really presented to us, you're gonna announce to everyone that Sir Remus Chiang is the actual computer whizz who came up with the cure to FindMe virus....."

He faced her with an affirming expression, "You do think this is the best thing to do, right?"

She nodded fervently, "After all, you'll be meeting up with your grandfather in the States..."

He became thoughtful, "Hopefully, I can find a way to restore the long-lost relationship between us..."

Tian Mo Xing quickly snapped, "And Dr James as well, ha!!"

He smiled gladly at her and nodded. Not long, a sales attendant walked up to them, "Hello there, I see that you both are a pair of lovers, would you be interested in our promotion plush toys? It only cost a toonie if you buy them in pairs...They're cute so it's really worth purchasing!" She handed the items for them to have a look.

Tian Mo Xing and 007 looked at each other with surprise as the toys somehow closely-resembled both of their own appearances in cartoon style. They checked the rest of those on the same shelf and saw that they were even 187, 747 and Miss Cherry's look-alikes. Tian Mo Xing inquired, "Can I know where you get the idea of these toys from??"

The sales attendant replied, "Oh, they are actually the characters for a new school detective cartoon show about to air soon..."

"Really," Tian Mo Xing considered and asked 007 how many they should buy.

He was about to reply when the other two guys rushed up to them both. "Hey, you two! Took us a long time to find you people," 747 called out.

"What are you having in your hands??" 187 asked curiously and could not believe what he saw. "Oh, are we that famous already??"

The sales attendant quickly took the chance to introduce their promotional offers to them. 187 and 747 were amazed as a result.

"Here, I want these pairs," 187 told.

747 has a hard time to decide, "Hey 187, you got yours and Miss Cherry's...Which one am I gonna pair up mine with??"

187 simply ignored his dilemma. Soon, Miss Cherry appeared, "Ahh...you all...I have been searching all over the airport! It's time for boarding soon..."

The cashier handed the bag of toys to 187 after he paid for it. Tian Mo Xing and 007 also got themselves double pairs.

"Here, Miss Cherry, my belated Valentine's gift to you...Please accept my gesture of love," 187 gave her the toy.

Miss Cherry beamed with joy, "Oh my...It's a cutie me...thank you 187..."

On the side, 747 could barely stand their touchy-feely talk. He merely took a pair of similar toys which looked very much like himself and muttered, "I'll just give one to Genie by the time I return..."

Once they're all done with their purchases, Miss Cherry urged them to get ready their passports and boarding passes. Just before passing through the gate, Tian Mo Xing breathed hard and looked behind her, taking in the pleasure of the sight of people heading in various directions in the airport, the sound of baggage trolleys being dragged along, business people typing fast on their laptops, the sharp footsteps made by stewardesses' high heels and the soothing relaxing music playing which matched every traveller's mood, just to name some...She wished silently deep in her heart, "I hope that us, the Pi Li MIT gang - Miss Cherry, 187, 747, 007 and I will continue to stay as one always...despite any change in circumstance, we'll still be together throughout the journey of life..."

007 glanced behind him to notice Tian Mo Xing still far behind. He called out to her, "Li Xiao Xing! Hurry up!!"

Tian Mo Xing turned back around and responded, "Yes!" She put on a delighted smile and cheered on aloud, "America...Here We Come!!!"

-THE END-


End file.
